In-hospital cardiac arrest: survival depends mainly on the effectiveness of the emergency response.

Objectives: To evaluate the factors affecting the outcome of in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Setting: A 1400-bed tertiary care teaching hospital with a dedicated cardiac arrest team (CAT). The CAT was immediately available in monitored areas (intensive care unit and emergency room).

A survey of the in-hospital response to cardiac arrest on general wards in the hospitals of Rome.

Objective: To investigate the response to cardiac arrest in general wards.

Methods: Direct interview with the cardiac arrest team (CAT) members in 32 hospitals in Rome, Italy.

Results: The majority of CATs are activated by telephone but only two (6%) hospitals have a dedicated telephone number for emergency calls.