Loading...
Researchers prospectively examined the effect of therapeutic mild hypothermia on neurological outcomes in 1145 consecutive patients who were successfully resuscitated during nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and were transported to a tertiary care center in Paris between 2000 and 2009. Patient outcomes were compared according to initial cardiac rhythm: ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT) or pulseless electric activity/asystole (PEA/asystole).
The initial rhythm was VF/VT in 62% of patients and PEA/asystole in 38%. Hypothermia was induced in about 60% of patients in each group. The goal temperature (<34°C) was achieved in a mean of 612 minutes in the VF/VT group and 522 minutes in the PEA/asystole gro…