Lancet
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In-hospital management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is complicated by uncertainty about prognosis and the need to identify markers of adverse outcome in individuals surviving initial resuscitation. We sought to identify factors that predict in-hospital death among patients who initially survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. We investigated 346 consecutive cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest received by a single centre in Edinburgh, UK (270 cases examined retrospectively, 76 prospectively). ⋯ Accurate prognostic assessment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors can be made from information available on admission. Of factors that independently predicted outcome, the skill of the resuscitator is most readily modified. This suggests that public training in resuscitation may reduce mortality rates.