New advances in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and post-resuscitation care. What European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines for 2021 tell us.

Abstract

Management of cardiorespiratory arrest needs clear and standardised algorithms based on the latest scientific evidence. Cardiorespiratory arrest is frequent in our environment, with an annual incidence of out-of-hospital-cardiac arrest (OHCA) and in-hospital-cardiac arrest  (IHCA)  in Europe of 67 - 170 / 100,000 inhabitants and 1.5 - 2.8 / 1,000 hospital admissions, respectively. The guideline emphasises the importance of recording, of knowing what is happening and what we are doing in the field of cardiac arrest. It encourages people to act in every cardiorespiratory arrest and focuses on the lack or delay in recognising it. It emphasises the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation with quality chest compressions. The objective of the article is to expose the main algorithms and the most important updates of the ERC Guidelines.