Advanced Cooling After Cardiac Arrest: Does the Method Matter?

Induction of mild hypothermia is a treatment option to reduce secondary reperfusion brain injury in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In a prospective observational study, researchers compared two methods of whole-body cooling in 167 consecutive comatose adult patients with out-of-hospital arrest from all causes who underwent hypothermia therapy at a single center in Norway during 5 years. All patients underwent immediate cooling with ice packs (around the groin, armpits, and neck) and cold intravenous fluids in the emergency department, followed by either core cooling (with a Coolgard device; 75 patients) or surface cooling (with an Arctic Sun device; 92 patients) at the treating physician's discretion. Trauma was considered a r…