Outcomes of asphyxial cardiac arrest patients who were treated with therapeutic hypothermia: a multicentre retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: While therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is in clinical use, its efficacy in certain patient groups is unclear. This study was designed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest (OHCA) caused by asphyxia, who were treated with TH.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicentre, retrospective, registry-based study was performed using data from the period 2007-2012. Comatose patients who were treated with TH after asphyxial cardiac arrest were included, while those who with cardiac arrest attributed to hanging, drowning or gas intoxication were excluded.

RESULTS: Of a total of 932 OHCA patients in the registry, 111 were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 65.8±16.3 years with individuals who were ≥65 years of age accounted for 61.3% of the cohort. Foreign-body airway obstruction was the most common cause (70.3%) of the cardiac arrest. Eighty patients (72.1%) presented with an initial non-shockable rhythm. In all institutions target TH temperatures were 32-34°C, but TH maintenance times varied. A total of 52 patients (46.8%) survived, of whom six patients (5.4%) showed a good neurologic outcome (cerebral performance category scale 1-2). The pupil light reflex, corneal reflex and time to return of spontaneous circulation (p=0.012, 0.015 and 0.032, respectively) were associated with survival. Witnessed arrest, age, previous lung disease, bystander basic life support and time factors were not associated with survival.

CONCLUSION: About half of patients who underwent TH after asphyxial cardiac arrest survived, but a very small number showed a good neurologic outcome. The TH maintenance times were not uniform in these patients. Additional research regarding both the appropriate TH guidelines for patients with asphyxial cardiac arrest and improvement of their neurologic outcome is needed.