Indications and limitations of induced hypothermic therapy for out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest.
OBJECTIVE
To identify candidates indicated to undergo induced hypothermic therapy (IHT) among comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) based on a retrospective review of medical charts.


METHODS
Between 1995 and 2004, 49 patients who recovered from CPA and treated by IHT were analyzed. The subjects were divided into 2 groups. The first group (GR, n = 16) consisted of patients with a recovery of consciousness and the second group (VD, n = 33) consisted of patients who either remained unconscious or who died.


RESULTS
Using a multiple logistic regression analysis, out-of-hospital return of spontaneous circulation was the only factor independently associated with the outcome (odds ratio, 0.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.00-0.23; P = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
IHT may be beneficial for CPA patients with out-of-hospital return of spontaneous circulation. Because of the small sample size, further large human studies are warranted.
Yanagawa
Youichi
Y
Department of Traumatology and Critical Care Medicine, National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan. yanagawa@me.ndmc.ac.jp
Takasu
Akira
A
Sakamoto
Toshihisa
T
Okada
Yoshiaki
Y
D000328:Adult; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D018579:Patient Selection; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014474:Unconsciousness