title: The ABCs of recording paediatric cardiac arrests.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the quality and comprehensiveness of documentation in Paediatric 'cardiac arrests'.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care hospital wards, Paediatric Intensive Care and Accident and Emergency department.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
authors.affiliation: John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK. rsangh@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanghavi
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shefler
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection; D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology