The ABCs of recording paediatric cardiac arrests.

Objective: To examine the quality and comprehensiveness of documentation in Paediatric 'cardiac arrests'.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary care hospital wards, Paediatric Intensive Care and Accident and Emergency department.

Subjects: 41 children experiencing acute life-threatening events in hospital.

Results: Overall documentation of details related to time, place and personnel was highly variable but generally present in over half of the cases reviewed. Data relating to specific drug-related and interventional therapies was insufficient, as was documentation of time intervals and consequent therapeutic decisions.

Conclusions: Documentation of critical resuscitation episodes in children is below recognised standards and this has potential quality of care and medicolegal implications. Current teaching needs to emphasise this essential aspect of clinical care from the earliest level of training.