Karol Kálig
The first worldwide international conference aimed at creating internationally accepted standards or guidelines for resuscitation, based on available scientific evidence, took place year 2000. The conference represented the conclusions of experts from different counutries, cultures and specialities. The conclusions from the conference confirm the safety and efficiency of the proposed actions, point out the inefficiency or hazards in others, and present new treatment methods that have „survived“ their evaluation based on available medical evidence.The area of out-of-hospital resuscitation is vast. The specific recommendations for different age groups and different causes of cardiac arrest reflect the physiology and pathophysiology of sudden onset emergency situations. The survival rate after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) varies between less than 5 % to 60 %, depending on the cause of cardiac arrest, the quality and availability of CPR, defibrillation and adanced life support techniques. The article quoted (part 1) deals with the problems of adult basic life support. In light of the international conference mentioned earlier, the article includes the essential changes in adult basic life support.