Therapeutic hypothermia and outcomes in paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A nationwide observational study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyse the association between mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) and outcomes in paediatric patients who survived out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) by using their initial electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm, which is the key factor used to predict prognosis in paediatric OHCA.

METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study utilised the registry of paediatric OHCA patients who survived to admission from 2008 to 2014 in the national OHCA database. MTH was defined as all cooling methods applied after the return of spontaneous circulation. Primary and secondary outcomes were survival to discharge and good neurologic recovery, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis with an interaction term between MTH and the initial ECG at the scene was conducted to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after adjusting for potential confounders.

RESULTS: Among the 663 enrolled patients, the rates of survival to discharge and good neurological recovery in the MTH and non-MTH groups were similar, at 48.1% vs. 40.2% (P=0.17, AOR 1.05 [0.59-1.88]) and 22.2% vs. 8.7% (P=0.45, AOR 1.22 [0.59-2.51]). In the interaction model, the AORs of MTH in shockable rhythm vs. non-shockable rhythm for survival to discharge (AOR 0.62 [0.15-2.52] vs. 1.17 [0.62-2.2]) and good neurological recovery (0.42 [0.12-1.45] vs. 2.22 [0.83-5.98]) were not significantly different.

CONCLUSION: MTH and the effect of MTH across the initial ECG at the scene were not significantly associated with survival or good neurologic recovery in paediatric OHCA survivors.