Therapeutic Hypothermia after Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Fred Rincon
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2008)

Letters18 March 2008Therapeutic Hypothermia after Cardiac ArrestFred Rincon, MDFred Rincon, MDFrom Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10034.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-148-6-200803180-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In their article, Ali and Zafari (1) review recent advances in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Although their review is an excellent summary of the most recent updates in resuscitation medicine, the authors ignored the latest therapeutic tool for the amelioration of neurologic damage after cardiac arrest: therapeutic hypothermia. On the basis of overwhelming evidence from clinical trials, the American Heart Association incorporated therapeutic hypothermia into its advanced cardiac life support guidelines (2) as the last link of the chain of survival.Recently, 3 trials demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of hypothermia after cardiac arrest. In the ...References1. Ali B, Zafari AM. Narrative review: cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care: review of the current guidelines. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:171-9. [PMID: 17679705] LinkGoogle Scholar2. ECC Committee, Subcommittees and Task Forces of the American Heart Association. 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation. 2005;112:IV1-203. [PMID: 16314375] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hypothermia after Cardiac Arrest Study Group. Mild therapeutic hypothermia to improve the neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:549-56. [PMID: 11856793] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Bernard SA, Gray TW, Buist MD, Jones BM, Silvester W, Gutteridge G, et al. Treatment of comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with induced hypothermia. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:557-63. [PMID: 11856794] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Hachimi-Idrissi S, Corne L, Ebinger G, Michotte Y, Huyghens L. Mild hypothermia induced by a helmet device: a clinical feasibility study. Resuscitation. 2001;51:275-81. [PMID: 11738778] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Eisenburger P, Sterz F, Holzer M, Zeiner A, Scheinecker W, Havel C, et al. Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest. Curr Opin Crit Care. 2001;7:184-8. [PMID: 11436525] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Randomized clinical study of thiopental loading in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. Brain Resuscitation Clinical Trial I Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1986;314:397-403. [PMID: 2868412] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. A randomized clinical study of a calcium-entry blocker (lidoflazine) in the treatment of comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. Brain Resuscitation Clinical Trial II Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1991;324:1225-31. [PMID: 2014035] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Jastremski M, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Vaagenes P, Abramson N, Heiselman D, Safar P. Glucocorticoid treatment does not improve neurological recovery following cardiac arrest. Brain Resuscitation Clinical Trial I Study Group. JAMA. 1989;262:3427-30. [PMID: 2685382] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Merchant RM, Soar J, Skrifvars MB, Silfvast T, Edelson DP, Ahmad F, et al. Therapeutic hypothermia utilization among physicians after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Crit Care Med. 2006;34:1935-40. [PMID: 16691134] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Fred Rincon, MDAffiliations: From Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10034.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoNarrative Review: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care: Review of the Current Guidelines Bakhtiar Ali and A. Maziar Zafari Therapeutic Hypothermia after Cardiac Arrest A. Maziar Zafari and Bahktiar Ali Metrics 18 March 2008Volume 148, Issue 6Page: 485-486KeywordsBladderClinical trialsComaHeartHypothermiaIschemiaMortalityRelative riskTemperatureVentricular fibrillation ePublished: 18 March 2008 Issue Published: 18 March 2008 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2008 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...