n used, the probability of death from ventricular fibrillation in intermediate care units would have been 0.0056925 instead of 0.0033638, a probability of death in intermediate care units from ventricular fibrillation approximately two thirds (69.2 percent) greater than that estimated by the researchers.
When the assumptions of the researchers related to routine hospital care are considered, again, that related to successful resuscitation from primary ventricular fibrillation appears to have been reasonable. With respect to the reduction in the rate of onset of ventricular fibrillation resulting from the use of lidocaine, however, the researchers assumed that lidocaine use would be less likely in a routine care situation than in an out of hospital situation where resuscitations begin within five minutes of cardiac arrest. Thus, they assumed further that the survival rate in the case of routine hospital care would be half way between that for out of hospital cases where resuscitation begin within five minutes of cardiac arrest and the rate for all out of hospital cardiac arrests treated by emergency medical teams. This assumption appeared to be reasonable. In this same context, the survival rate in outpatient care situations
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