Pediatric cardiopulmonary-cerebral resuscitation: an overview and future directions

During the past 40 years, the principles of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have remained fundamentally unchanged. Few advanced life-support interventions unequivocally improve long-term intact neurologic survival following cardiac arrest. As efforts to improve neurologic outcome following cardiac arrest continue, many promising basic science-based interventions are under investigation to convert simple CPR to cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation. This article summarizes the scientific basis for selected pediatric resuscitation interventions and highlights promising strategies to improve outcomes in the future.