CPR: What's changed? Are you doing it right?

In 2010, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) released its latest treatment recommendations on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). 1 This was done as part of its five-yearly literature review cycle and was based on an examination and review of 277 resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care topics. It is this consensus statement that is used as the basis for the creation of resuscitation guidelines by organisations such as the American Heart Association (AHA) 2 and the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). 3 These guidelines are then formalised into training courses such as the ERC’s Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support and European Paediatric Life Support; and the AHA’s BLS, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support and Paediatric Advanced Life Support courses.