Background The paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation involves high level skills by operators in a setting characterised by an high complexity and a considerable emotional impact. Clinical experience shows that parents are often turned away from the emergency room because they were considered an obstacle.

Objective Investigate the behaviour of some hospitals about the management of parents during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in paediatric subjects.

Materials and Methods Deliver a questionnaire to the nurse coordinators of 19 Italian hospital.

Results The questionnaire had a response rate equal to 89.4%, corresponding to 17 hospitals.

23.5% of hospitals admit the presence of both parents during all phases of resuscitation without age limits, while 17,7% of the structures do not allow the parental presence because of the possible fear created by the anxiety of parents, for the inadequacy of the spaces within the operational units and the perception that parents can potentially be an obstacle for health professionals during the resuscitation procedures.

The remaining 58.8% have a favourable opinion about the possibility of guaranteeing to the paediatric patient, without any age limit, the presence of parents during all phases of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation but difficulties arise to make such a guarantee for the inadequacy of the spaces, for difficulties in managing the behaviour of the relatives especially in regards of anxiety and for the absence of any psychological support figure.

Conclusions It’s necessary that all the hospitals in any way involved into the primary care process shall act in conformity with common management protocols concerning this theme.