CPR: basic life support

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was first documented in the 1700s in Amsterdam where many people worked and travelled on canals. There was a high rate of drownings because people fell into the water, so the Society for Recovery of Drowned Persons dedicated their work to saving victims. In 1891 Dr Friedrich Maass documented the performance of chest compressions and by 1903 Dr George Crile reported a successful resuscitation.

There has been a lot of dispute over the best way to perform CPR and there remain large gaps in evidence. Historically in the veterinary field ideals have been extrapolated from human research, but in 2011 an evidence-based consensus was designed specifically for veterinary patients. The Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) guidelines were published in 2012 and can be reviewed in full in The Journal of Emergency and Critical Care 22(S1): S102–S131 (Fletcher et al, 2012).

Cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) is defined as a failure of effective circulation and ventilation. This leads to reduced tissue oxygenation and organ damage and emergency intervention can be life saving. Patients fall into two categories; those with reversible causes; those with irreversible causes.