Presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation is beneficial to family members in the out-of-hospital setting

Commentary on: Jabre P, Belpomme V, Azoulay E, et al.. Family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. N Engl J Med 2013;368:1008–18. Context Inviting family members to be present during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is increasingly common; however, it is still a controversial practice and has not been widely adopted in the USA. While a number of studies suggest that family members are amenable to this practice, robust, scientifically rigorous evidence demonstrating the psychological impact of witnessing a family member's resuscitation is lacking. Methods A total of 570 first-degree, adult family members of adult patients undergoing CPR in the home setting were included in this cluster-randomised controlled trial that was conducted in France. Family members in the intervention group were given the option of being present during their family members’ resuscitations. Those that chose to be present were brought to the room where the resuscitation was taking place...
Source: Evidence-Based Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Epidemiologic studies, Stroke, Interventional cardiology, Anxiety disorders (including OCD and PTSD), Child and adolescent psychiatry, Legal and forensic medicine Therapeutics Source Type: research