International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) was formed in 1992 to provide a forum for liaison between principal resuscitation organisations worldwide. (As of July 2006 all major Australian training bodies adopted the revised ILCOR methods of rescusitation) At present ILCOR comprises representatives of the American Heart Association (AHA), the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSFC), the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC), the Resuscitation Councils of Southern Africa (RCSA), and the newly formed Council of Latin America for Resuscitation (CLAR).

Standards were first published in 1974 and were updates in 1980, 1986, and 1992. The latest ILCOR statements were released worldwide this year, culminating in an announcment at the International Congress held in Sydney, Australia in August 1997.

At that congress numerous papers and data findings were made available and it is from these that it can be asserted that there is a more positive and practical way of teaching CPR, with indication that these methods will also give greater chance of survival in the case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

ILCOR has stated its objectives as working toward establishing common (global) guidelines and has done so by convening meetings of member nations and interested professional and lay bodies to examine medical evidence on which existing guidelines are based and grading these using a system developed and adapted by the AHA.

There are three classes of recommendations and ILCOR has encouraged member nations to adopt where practicable only the Class 1 (definitely helpful) statements.

These pages (use links) present a definitive description of ILCOR findings in just two areas - that of layperson Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (single rescuer, Basic Life Support) and the Universal Advanced Life Support Algorithm.

The Data Page offers tables and charts as well as official reports from participating bodies that range from clinic to in-hospital research.

It is again cautioned that data on these pages should be checked for compliance with the readers local and government rules and regulations as the advice contained therein is not yet totally global in concensus.

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