Multicenter cohort study of in-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest.

Objectives (1) Describe the clinical characteristics, hospital courses and outcomes of a cohort of children cared for within the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest with sustained return of circulation between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004, and (2) identify factors associated with hospital mortality in this population. These data are required to prepare a randomized trial of therapeutic hypothermia on neurobehavioral outcomes in children after in-hospital cardiac arrest.