Could Inhaled Xenon Benefit Survivors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest?

Among victims of witnessed arrest with initially shockable rhythms, novel MRI techniques revealed less brain damage in those treated with inhaled xenon.

Inhaled xenon has shown promise as a neuroprotective agent after cardiac arrest in animal models and is routinely used in Europe as an inhalational anesthetic. Investigators in Finland randomized 110 comatose victims of witnessed cardiac arrest with initially shockable rhythms to receive cooling to 33°C alone or with xenon inhalation for 24 hours.

The primary outcome was cerebral white matter damage, assessed by global fractional anisotropy on diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 36 to 52 hours after arrest. Secondary outcomes included 6-month mortality and functional status (measured with modified Rankin Scale and Cerebral Performance Category scores). Outcomes were assessed by researchers blinded to treatment group.

Among 97 pa…

Reviewing Author

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Could Inhaled Xenon Benefit Survivors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest?

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Reviewing Author