BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of mild hypothermia (34-35 degrees C) on the final neurological outcome in patients after resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. METHODS: Forty three patients, admitted at University Hospital Brno after the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, were included in the cohort study. The inclusion criteria were out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resulting from ventricular fibrillation or non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia as well as recovery of spontaneous circulation within 60 minutes after first symptoms. Blanketrol II (Cinncinnatti Sub Zero, USA) water mattresses were used for cooling the patients. The temperature was maintained at 34-35 degrees C for 24 hours. Favorable neurological outcome was defined as a Pittsburgh cerebral-performance category 1 (good recovery) or 2 (moderate disability) on five-category scale. RESULTS: The required temperature was reached in all patients; the cooling rate was 0.8 +/- 0.3 degrees C/hour. The time between the restoration of circulation and reaching the temperature of 35 degrees C was 119 +/- 32 minutes. The time induce the hypothermia (with the core body temperature below 35 degrees C) was 26 +/- 2 hours. Good outcome at hospital discharge was achieved in 21 out of 43 (49%) patients. Ten patients died in the hospital and two patients died after the discharge from the hospital, with the overall 6 months mortality being 28%. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed feasibility, safety and possible efficacy of the mild hypothermia (34-35 degrees C) patients after the cardiac arrest. To evaluate whether the target temperature 34-35 degrees C is as beneficial as 32-34 degrees C; a randomised controlled trial design should be used (Tab. 4, Fig. 2, Ref. 17). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.

Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive care University Hospital Brno Medical Faculty of Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic