[Guidelines for advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation of adult patients. European Resuscitation Council 1992].

In this paper 14 experts from 11 countries publish an abridged version of the European Resuscitation Council's guidelines for adult advanced cardiac life support. The guidelines describe in detail how to perform resuscitation of patients with cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation, pulse-less ventricular tachycardia, asystole and electro-mechanical dissociation. They should be used together with the guidelines for basic life support, also presented in this issue. The Council hopes that the guidelines and the accompanying algorithm will serve as ready to use "how-to-do-it" instructions for ordinary practitioners and paramedics inside and outside hospital.