 As the quality of resuscitative care has steadily progressed throughout the years, so has the increasing awareness of the need for effective organization. Emergency care equipment must be integrated into one compact and portable unit, available at a moment's notice. This is now being carried out in the form of tackle boxes and crash carts, each with its own particular arrangement and maintenance system. But regardless of the degree of excellence of any number of these systems, there is still one critical element missing. Standardization. An emergency situation may not provide time or familiarization of a new system. And considering the mobility of military medical personnel, this can be a recurring and crucial problem. The loss of a few seconds spent looking for a needed item or replacing an expired drug could have tragic results. Years of extensive research and testing have resulted in a solution to these problems. The development of one cardiopulmonary resuscitation kit and inspection system to be used throughout the world. This CPR kit includes all the necessary items to initiate CPR or the treatment of anaphylaxis. The Surgeon General established a policy that a standard CPR kit be immediately available for use by qualified Army medical personnel within seconds of a cardiac arrest. The CPR kits will be used in such units as hospital wards, clinics where parental drugs are administered, clinics where exercise testing is conducted, emergency rooms, X-ray facilities, dental clinics, troop dispensaries, and ambulances. If you were to inspect the kit, you would find that the durable case with all its contents weighs less than 23 pounds. The bayonet locking brackets in the back allow the entire set to be easily mounted on a wall. In front, you'll find the kit's particular code number and expiration date, which will be maintained on the locator system in the pharmacy unit. Pharmacy units will be the central issue and inspection points for the kits. Pharmacy personnel will be responsible for keeping drug potency up to date and for coordinating with central material service to ensure that resuscitative devices are clean and operational. Below the identification section are the recommended CPR treatments and procedures for cardiopulmonary arrest and anaphylactic shock. On the other door you can find a list of the kit's contents and drug dilutions. Each kit has a slot which will hold a security lock. The method of security locking must meet regulatory requirements for crash carts and emergency trays. After removing the lock, you can open the latches by pulling from the right, then lifting from the left. The magnetic buttons on the sides will keep the doors open. Inside the kit you'll again find the recommended CPR treatments and procedures and the recommended dosages for emergency drugs. An attendant pad is provided for record keeping purposes and patient disposition. All drugs in the CPR kit are labeled as well as color-coded. You'll find all the essential drugs for CPR recommended by the American Heart Association. In this door, the top three injectable syringes are designed to be used with the 50 milliliter ampoules of sodium bicarbonate. The ampoules are placed and the injectors are shown in the illustration. The next two injectable syringes are in line with infant sodium bicarbonate, atropine sulfate, and 1% lidocaine. The two injectors, which contain three and a half inch needles, are designed to be used with epinephrine and calcium chloride should they need to be injected into the heart. Two more injectors are supplied for the anaphylactic drugs, dexamethasone, diphenhydramine, aminophthalene, and ephedrine. An ampoule of 50 milliliters of 50% dextrose has been added in the event of insulin coma. The metaraminal by tartrate and 20% lidocaine may be placed in the IV solution with the use of the injectols. Injection of these products into the infusion bags gives a standard pre-diluted infusion mixture. Eight spaces have been left empty to allow for storage of additional items. All drugs and syringes in the kit may be supplied by several different drug companies. The IV area is divided into two sections. At the top we have two 250 milliliter bags of 5% dextrose, along with two intravenous injection sets. In the tray below that, you will find all the necessary items to start an IV. These are a tourniquet, alcohol prep pads, IV catheters and needles, a 20 milliliter syringe, and a roll of tape. Also located in the tray are the packaging search for all the drugs in the kit. Two wall mounts, five disposable padlocks, and a device which may be used to remove the contents of both doors should the kit need to be modified. The next compartment contains all the necessary items for airway management. These include adult and pediatric masks, a collapsible self-inflating resuscitation bag with valve, and adult and pediatric endotracheal tubes with stylets. In the front of this compartment, you'll find three sizes of oral airways and disposable laryngoscope handles with adult and pediatric blades attached. The power supply contains two replaceable AA alkaline batteries. This door holds extra injectors and injectols. The lower compartment contains a standard blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. As members of the medical community, we all recognize the need for a standardized portable resuscitation kit, a kit to enable advanced life support to be provided quickly and efficiently in the clinical setting as well as in the field. As advancements are made, we'll need a kit which can be easily modified to keep up with current standards. The CPR kit clearly meets these needs and is sure to become an integral part of emergency medical service of the future.