Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicine, 35100 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270, USA. weilm@weiliccm.org
Kolar and colleagues contribute an additional and important incentive for rescuers to utilize end-tidal carbon dioxide tensions as a routine monitor to guide management and decision-making during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They conclude that below-threshold levels of 14 mmHg (1.5 kPa) measured after 20 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation reliably predict that spontaneous circulation cannot be restored.