[Outcomes of in-hospital resuscitation]

To make an advanced decision about resuscitation it is important to know what its outcomes are. In-hospital resuscitation cannot always be compared with out-of-hospital resuscitation; furthermore, outcomes of in-hospital resuscitation vary between hospital wards and patient populations. Age plays a role in the outcome of a resuscitation procedure. However, older patients who leave hospital alive have a reasonable prognosis as far as survival and neurological function are concerned. Data on quality of life and self-reliance after resuscitation are scarce or non-existent. Comorbidities and ADL status also contribute to the outcome of resuscitation, independent of age. One of the goals of Emergency Intervention Systems is to limit the number of in-hospital resuscitations. Although these systems are probably successful at this point, this cannot be demonstrated in all studies. Much of our knowledge about in-hospital resuscitation is based solely on American research.