title: Hypothermia therapy for cardiac arrest in pediatric patients.
abstract: Cardiac arrest is associated with high morbidity and mortality in children. Hypothermia therapy has theoretical benefits on brain preservation and has the potential to decrease morbidity and mortality in children following cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association guidelines recommend that it should be considered in children after cardiac arrest. Methods of inducing hypothermia include simple surface cooling techniques, intravenous boluses of cold saline, gastric lavage with ice-cold normal saline, and using the temperature control device with extracorporeal life support. We recommend further study before a strong recommendation can be made to use hypothermia therapy in children with cardiac arrest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada. jamie.hutchison@sickkids.ca
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hutchison
authors.forename: Dermot R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Orlowski
authors.forename: Niranjan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kissoon
mesh_terms: D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D016896:Treatment Outcome