Post resuscitation care in the emergency department, is a standardized approach needed?

Resuscitative medicine is an area of intense interest. Rigid protocols exist for dealing with the victim of a acute cardiac arrest. Patients who have been successfully resuscitated also require intensive care and monitoring. In addition transferring the patient either within the hospital or to another institution requires meticulous attention to details to ensure safe transport. We present an overview of post-resuscitative care in the emergency department and algorithms to facilitate that care. Like the treatment protocols used in advanced life support, these algorithms are a suggested way of proceeding with the post-resuscitative care of the victims of arrest.