Does age affect outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

Longstreth, et al. examined the relationship between age and outcome in patients treated by paramedics for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Seattle, Washington, over a five-year period. Their data suggest that outcome is largely independent of age in patients under 80 years of age. Patients whose initial rhythms were ventricular fibrillation had the highest rate of successful resuscitation and discharge from the hospital. This report and others contradict studies where data does not support recommendations of resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in patients aged 70 years or older. Longstreth, et al. caution against creating a situation where those performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the elderly do not believe it to be beneficial, and their less than maximal resuscitation efforts result in a low success rate. (KIE abstract)