title: Effect of hypothermia therapy after outpatient cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several investigators have emphasized the positive effect of hypothermia therapy on patients who have suffered from cardiac arrest. Salvaging patients from circulatory collapse is a pivotal task, but it is unclear whether additional hypothermia can practically contribute to an improvement in the neurological outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Since December 2005, our hospital has been using hypothermia therapy. Forty-six comatose patients after recovery of spontaneous circulation were consecutively enrolled in the present study. Twenty-five of the enrolled patients received hypothermia therapy and 21 did not because they were treated prior to 2005. The time from collapse to spontaneous circulation (P=0.09), the rates of performance of bystander CPR (P=0.370) and presence of a witnessed collapse (P=0.067) were not significantly different between the recovery group (n=28) and the non-recovery group (n=18). The additional hypothermia therapy was an independent predictor of neurological recovery (P=0.005, OR 6.5, 95%CI 1.74-24.27). The recovery rate was significantly higher in patients who received hypothermia therapy (80%) compared to those who did not (38%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypothermia therapy is very useful for treating patients who have had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; it should be induced rapidly and smoothly.
authors: Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan. ichiro-takeuchi@umin.ac.jp
authors: Ichiro
authors: I
authors: Takeuchi
authors: Hitoshi
authors: H
authors: Takehana
authors: Daisuke
authors: D
authors: Satoh
authors: Hidehira
authors: H
authors: Fukaya
authors: Yujin
authors: Y
authors: Tamura
authors: Mototsugu
authors: M
authors: Nishi
authors: Hisahito
authors: H
authors: Shinagawa
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Imai
authors: Toru
authors: T
authors: Yoshida
authors: Taiki
authors: T
authors: Tojo
authors: Takayuki
authors: T
authors: Inomata
authors: Naoyoshi
authors: N
authors: Aoyama
authors: Kazui
authors: K
authors: Soma
authors: Tohru
authors: T
authors: Izumi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D003128:Coma / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*