Outcomes in elderly patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest: is age an independent predictor?

The nature of the association between age and survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is debated. In general, age seems to be less important in determining final outcome than event variables, like initial cardiac rhythm, witnessed status, or the interval between cardiac arrest and resuscitation interventions. Recent studies showed that that although elderly comatose patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest have lower crude survival rates than younger patients with similar characteristics, comorbidities and use of DNR are more important than age per se in determining the outcome of elderly patients. The interplay of those three variables deserves further investigation.