Neurologic Function in Post Cardiac Arrest Patients After Medically Induced Hypothermia

Each year 420,000 people in the United States suffer cardiac arrest outside of an acute care hospital setting, and only 10% of those patients survive to hospital discharge. Cardiac arrest can lead to advanced stages of cerebral ischemia which can lead to severe and permanent neurologic impairments in patients, even after spontaneous circulation is regained. In attempts to decrease the amount of cerebral ischemia in patients who remain comatose following resuscitation, therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is initiated. During TH the patient is cooled to a temperature of 32-34°C for 24-hours followed by a 12-24-hour period of rewarming (Silverman & Scirica, 2016). TH is now routinely used in hospital settings, per protocol, with the intentions of improving neurological outcomes. These literature reviews will look at TH, implementation routes, and neurologic status at discharge and months thereafter in patients who received TH compared to those who received normothermia, or treatment in the absence of TH. This information will be presented to Campbell County Memorial Hospital in attempts to continue use of TH, despite hesitancy from some employees, and to educate on the most beneficial outcomes and how they are achieved.