Therapeutic mild hypothermia improves outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

• Published in: Netherlands heart journal 2009-10, Vol.17 (10), p.378-384
• Main Authors: Ferreira, I. Andrade, Schutte, M., Oosterloo, E., Dekker, W., Mooi, B. W., Dambrink, J. H. E., van ’t Hof, A. W. J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiology; Medical Education; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original; Original Article
• ISSN: 1568-5888; 1876-6250
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03086288

Purpose. Therapeutic mild hypothermia (TMH) is indicated for comatose survivors of an out-ofhospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) to improve general outcome. Although widely used, there are not many reports on its use on a critical care unit (CCU) or on the comparison of cooling methods. Methods. In a retrospective analysis covering January 2005 to December 2006, 75 consecutive comatose subjects post-OHCA due to ventricular fibrillation and nonventricular fibrillation rhythms (asystole/pulseless electrical activity) were studied in a single tertiary PCI centre. Subjects treated with conventional post-resuscitation care without TMH served as controls ( n =26; Jan 2005–Sep 2005). Outcome from controls at hospital discharge was compared with subjects treated with TMH (n=49; Oct 2005–Dec 2006). During the study period, TMH was induced by either external ( n =25; Oct 2005–Feb 2006) or endovascular ( n =24; Mar 2006–Dec 2006) approach. Results. Besides more females in the control group, there were no major differences in baseline characteristics present between all groups. TMH improved survival (OR 0.36 [0.13–0.95], p