Drugs in resuscitation: an update

Drug therapy is recommended after effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation in cardiac arrest. Some drugs appear to have short-term benefits, such as improved survival to hospital, e.g. vasopressor and antiarrhythmics. Hence, they have been included in the cardiac life support algorithm. However, to date, no drug (or combination of drugs) has been shown to improve long-term survival in randomised trials. Hopefully, improvements in post-arrest intensive unit care can translate improved survival in hospitals into better long-term outcomes. This review is an update on drugs during resuscitation, including the choice of agents, dosing, sequence and route. Specific drugs may have benefits in correcting identified causes of collapse. Drug usage during resuscitation is an evolving science, with the use of medications improving as results of clinical studies become available.