Attempt CPR-language matters inside our hospitals

Abstract

The terms cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and resuscitation have been used non-specifically and interchangeably. To provide clarity and transparency to clinicians and patients when facilitating conversations about what treatments are warranted and wanted if clinical deterioration occurs in the hospital, CPR must be reframed as its original, official definition in New Zealand: chest compressions and rescue breaths. Key messages: CPR has become shorthand for resuscitation, with the terms used interchangeably. Resuscitation measures to preserve life and organ function are far broader than CPR. Separation of CPR from other resuscitative measures will result in better clinician-patient conversations and more precise treatment decisions tailored to preventing deterioration and, thus, cardiac arrest.In-hospital progressive deterioration leading to natural dying is different from sudden cardiac arrest.