The PULSE initiative: scientific priorities and strategic planning for resuscitation research and life saving therapies.

Abstract

The Post-resuscitative and initial Utility in Life Saving Efforts (PULSE) Conference represented an initiative by leaders of the international scientific community who sought opportunities for major improvements in clinical outcomes after cardiopulmonary resuscitation and after resuscitation from serious traumatic injury.1 The experts focused on scientific research that would yield major advances in lifesaving care, including measurable increases in survival and functional recovery. However, unless research support is prioritized to address resuscitation, it is highly unlikely that these opportunities would soon be realized. We lose more than 1000 lives each day in the United States from sudden, unexpected death, a fatality rate comparable to the crash of two 747 aircraft without survivors.2–5⇓⇓⇓ Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among individuals aged greater than 65 years, the second leading cause of death among individuals aged 45 to 65 years, and the 5th leading cause of death among individuals aged 1 to 9 years.4,5⇓ Traumatic injuries in the United States were responsible for 147 891 deaths and 2.6 million hospitalizations, costing over $335 000 per death and resulting in 37 million emergency department visits in 1995.6,7⇓ Trauma is the leading cause of death among children and all individuals to age 34 years, the leading cause of loss of productive life-years of any disease, with societal costs (estimated by the National Safety Council) of $469 billion dollars annually, and the third leading cause of death among individuals aged 35 to 54 years. The Conferees anticipated that the availability of new intervention strategies with more effective diagnostic methodologies in the early post-injury time interval would not only save lives but also reduce morbidity.1 Accordingly, the PULSE participants cited current restraints and/or barriers to the delivery of more effective resuscitation interventions and reaffirmed that …