Background/Objectives: Stratifying post-cardiac arrest survivors based on the likelihood of good neurologic outcomes can guide the decision for targeted temperature management (TTM). This study aimed to compare the impact of TTM on neurological improvement among comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors stratified by the revised post-cardiac arrest syndrome for therapeutic hypothermia (rCAST) score. Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted from February 2018 to April 2023 at the emergency department. We calculated the rCAST score immediately after the return of spontaneous circulation in adult patients and compared neurological outcomes at discharge for TTM based on the severity classification of the rCAST score (low: ≤5.5; moderate: 6.0-14.0; high: ≥14.5). We utilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis to adjust for selection bias and potential confounding factors between the TTM and non-TTM groups. Results: Among 300 comatose OHCA survivors, the proportions of patients with good neurological outcomes at discharge were 60.7% (17/28), 38.9% (56/144), and 2.3% (3/128) in the low, moderate, and high-severity rCAST groups, respectively. With increasing severity of the rCAST, the absolute difference in the proportion of patients with good neurological outcomes decreased between those who underwent TTM and those who did not (68.0% vs. 0.0%; p = 0.023, 45.2% vs. 27.5%; p = 0.037, and 3.5% vs. 0.0%; p = 0.221, respectively). After adjusting using IPTW, TTM was associated with good neurologic outcomes in the moderate-severity group (odds ratio, 2.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-4.91; p = 0.029). Conclusions: This study suggests that TTM may offer specific benefits for certain groups of OHCA survivors. Further research is needed to refine risk stratification tools for improved patient selection.

Delays in initiation of targeted temperature management (TTM) have been observed in randomized trials evaluating immediate or delayed coronary angiography among survivors of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), but whether delays are associated with adverse clinical outcomes is unknown. Resuscitated survivors of VT/VF OHCA who received TTM between April 2011 and June 2015 were identified and time to TTM initiation was described. The association between TTM initiation <2 versus ≥2 hours, neurologically favorable, and overall survival to hospital discharge was assessed. In a propensity-weighted analysis of 2954 patients, a significantly larger proportion of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) had TTM initiation ≥2 hours (48.6%) as compared to patients undergoing angiography (41.4%) or those who did not undergo a procedure (33.0%; p < 0.001 for all comparisons). In this cohort, the odds of neurologically favorable survival (odds ratios [OR]: 0.88, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 0.75-1.02) and overall survival (OR: 0.92, 95% CI = 0.83-1.03) to hospital discharge were similar among ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who underwent PCI with TTM initiation <2 versus ≥2 hours. Patients without STEMI who underwent PCI with TTM initiation ≥2 hours and did not have a "do not resuscitate" order or withdrawal of life-sustaining care had decreased odds of neurologically favorable survival to hospital discharge (OR: 0.45, 95% CI = 0.22-0.93) compared to TTM initiation <2 hours. PCI was associated with delays in TTM initiation ≥2 hours among resuscitated survivors of VT/VF OHCA. Delays in TTM initiation ≥2 hours were associated with decreased odds of neurologically favorable survival among patients without STEMI who underwent PCI.

Substantial gaps exist in the neuroprognostication of cardiac arrest patients who remain comatose after the restoration of spontaneous circulation. Most studies focus on predicting survival, a measure confounded by the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment decisions. Severe cerebral edema (SCE) may serve as an objective proximal imaging-based surrogate of neurologic injury.

We retrospectively analyzed data from 288 patients to automate SCE detection with machine learning (ML) and to test the hypothesis that the quantitative values produced by these algorithms (ML_SCE) can improve predictions of neurologic outcomes. Ground-truth SCE (GT_SCE) classification was based on radiology reports.

The model attained a cross-validated testing accuracy of 87% [95% CI: 84%, 89%] for detecting SCE. Attention maps explaining SCE classification focused on cisternal regions (p<0.05). Multivariable analyses showed that older age (p<0.001), non-shockable initial cardiac rhythm (p=0.004), and greater ML_SCE values (p<0.001) were significant predictors of poor neurologic outcomes, with GT_SCE (p=0.064) as a non-significant covariate.

Our results support the feasibility of automated SCE detection. Future prospective studies with standardized neurologic assessments are needed to substantiate the utility of quantitative ML_SCE values to improve neuroprognostication.

Most patients remain comatose within the first days after cardiac arrest (CA) and resuscitation. Guidelines recommend multimodal neuroprognostication including neuron specific enolase (NSE) as serum biomarker. Neurofilament light-chain (NFL) may have higher prognostic accuracy earlier after cardiac arrest and a lower risk of confounders. This study investigates the prognostic value of serum NFL in clinical routine compared to established prognostic tests.

Monocentric retrospective observational study of patients with serum NFL between 24-96 hours after CA. Neurological outcome was evaluated at hospital discharge via the Cerebral Performance Category score (CPC), dichotomized as good (CPC 1-3) and poor (CPC 4-5). Prognostic performance for good and poor neurological outcome prediction was analysed for NFL, NSE, electroencephalography (EEG), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), and head computed tomography (CT). NFL was measured using the SIMOA Quanterix assay.

152 patients were included, median age was 61 years, 24% were female. 10 patients were discharged in vegetative state or comatose (7%), and 78 died before discharge (51%). NFL >2000pg/ml predicted poor outcome with 53% (43-63%) sensitivity and 100% (94-100%) specificity. Most patients (69%) with NFL <55pg/ml had a good outcome. Predictive accuracy was similar to other neuroprognostic tests (AUC 0.89, 0.84-0.94). In head-to-head comparisons with established neuroprognostic tests, NFL identified 16-41% additional poor outcome patients.

NFL (SIMOA) >2000pg/ml predicts poor neurological outcome with high specificity, while low concentrations strongly argue against severe HIE. Adding NFL to established neuroprognostication increases sensitivity of poor outcome prediction.

Sedation is often provided to resuscitated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients to tolerate post-cardiac arrest care, including temperature management. However, the evidence of benefit or harm from routinely administered deep sedation after cardiac arrest is limited. The aim of this trial is to investigate the effects of continuous deep sedation compared to minimal sedation on patient-important outcomes in resuscitated OHCA patients in a large clinical trial.

The SED-CARE trial is part of the 2 × 2 × 2 factorial Sedation, Temperature and Pressure after Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation (STEPCARE) trial, a randomized international, multicentre, parallel-group, investigator-initiated, superiority trial with three simultaneous intervention arms. In the SED-CARE trial, adults with sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) who are comatose following resuscitation from OHCA will be randomized within 4 hours to continuous deep sedation (Richmond agitation and sedation scale (RASS) -4/-5) (intervention) or minimal sedation (RASS 0 to -2) (comparator), for 36 h after ROSC. The primary outcome will be all-cause mortality at 6 months after randomization. The two other components of the STEPCARE trial evaluate sedation and temperature control strategies. Apart from the STEPCARE trial interventions, all other aspects of general intensive care will be according to the local practices of the participating site. Neurological prognostication will be performed according to European Resuscitation Council and European Society of Intensive Care Medicine guidelines by a physician blinded to the allocation group. To detect an absolute risk reduction of 5.6% with an alpha of 0.05, 90% power, 3500 participants will be enrolled. The secondary outcomes will be the proportion of participants with poor functional outcomes 6 months after randomization, serious adverse events in the intensive care unit, and patient-reported overall health status 6 months after randomization.

The SED-CARE trial will investigate if continuous deep sedation (RASS -4/-5) for 36 h confers a mortality benefit compared to minimal sedation (RASS 0 to -2) after cardiac arrest.

To study the histopathologically quantified severity of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in deceased cardiac arrest unbiased by death causes and correlated with demographic parameters.

We conducted a retrospective, single-centre study including cardiac arrest patients with postmortem brain autopsies. Using the selective eosinophilic neuronal death (SEND), the histopathological severity of HIE was quantified in the cerebral neocortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brainstem, and correlated with demographic parameters.

We included 319 patients with a median time of return from cardiac arrest to spontaneous circulation (tROSC) of 10 min, of whom 62(19.4%) had a regain of consciousness (RoC) before death. The tROSC was significantly correlated with the SEND in all brain regions (p < 0.05, Spearman's rho = 0.14 to 0.29). The SEND in the neocortex, hippocampus, and basal ganglia was significantly correlated with RoC (p < 0.05, Spearman's rho = -0.25 to -0.11). In 9 patients with tROSCs less than 1 min, all had a brainstem SEND less than 30%, and 8(88.9%) had neocortical SEND less than 30%. Among 69 patients with tROSCs greater than 20 min, 47.8-82.6% showed a SEND less than 30% across brain regions.

We found less SEND and RoC was more likely in patients with shorter tROSCs. A tROSC less than 1 min was mostly associated with SEND less than 30% in all brain regions. Prolonged resuscitations with tROSCs greater than 20 min did not exclude a SEND less than 30% in a relevant proportion of patients. Future histopathological studies are warranted to investigate the impact of modifiable clinical parameters on the severity of HIE.

Early and accurate prediction of neurological outcomes in comatose patients following cardiac arrest is critical for informed clinical decision-making. Existing studies have predominantly focused on EEG for assessing brain injury, with some exploring ECG data. However, the integration of EEG, ECG, and clinical features remains insufficiently investigated, and its potential to enhance predictive accuracy has not been fully established. Moreover, the limited interpretability of current models poses significant barriers to clinical application. Using the I-CARE database, we analyzed EEG, ECG, and clinical data from comatose cardiac arrest patients. After rigorous preprocessing and feature engineering, machine learning models (Logistic Regression, SVM, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting) were developed. Performance was evaluated through AUC-ROC, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, with SHAP applied to interpret feature contributions. Our multi-modal model outperformed single-modality models, achieving AUC values from 0.75 to 1.0. Notably, the model's accuracy peaked at a critical point within the 12-24 h window (e.g., 18 h, AUC = 1.0), surpassing EEG-only (AUC 0.7-0.8) and ECG-only (AUC < 0.6) models. SHAP identified Shockable Rhythm as the most influential feature (mean SHAP value 0.17), emphasizing its role in predictive accuracy. This study presents a novel multi-modal approach that significantly enhances early neurological outcome prediction in critical care. SHAP-based interpretability further supports clinical applicability, paving the way for more personalized patient management post-cardiac arrest.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of global mortality. Most patients get hypoxic brain injury, which often leads to the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST) because of concerns of poor neurologic prognosis. This study describes the rates and reasons for WLST and identifies factors associated with early WLST, defined as occurring within 72 hours of admission.

We conducted a multicentered, retrospective cohort study of adult OHCA patients admitted to 3 large academic hospitals in Toronto from January 2012 to December 2019. Data were extracted from medical records and analyzed using descriptive statistics and cause-specific hazards regression models to identify factors associated with WLST and documented goals of care (GOC) discussions.

Among 264 patients (median age 66 years, 76.5% male), the in-hospital mortality rate was 62.1%. Of the nonsurvivors, 67.1% died following WLST (90% of cases because of concern of poor neurologic prognosis), with 50% of WLST occurring <72 hours from admission. Formal declaration of brain death only occurred 9.8% of the time. Older age significantly increased the risk of early WLST. GOC discussions were documented only 56.4% of the time in the overall cohort and significantly associated with WLST across all time periods.

This study highlights the high incidence of WLST, and specifically early WLST, in OHCA patients. GOC discussions are routinely undocumented and is associated with a higher likelihood of WLST. These findings underscore heterogeneity of practice, and the influence of GOC discussions in education and shared decision making.

A previous study found that following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), 67% of out-of-hospital 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) diagnostic for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) changed to non-STEMI on repeat emergency department (ED) ECG. Here we evaluated associations with resolution of STEMI on ED ECG.

In this secondary analysis of a previous retrospective study, adults (≥18 years) with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) following OHCA, at least 1 out-of-hospital and ED ECG and transport to the study hospital were entered. We analyzed variables suspected of influencing ischemic changes on ECG including arrest characteristics, treatment interventions, resuscitation duration, and out-of-hospital and ED ECG acquisition times.

Forty-nine of 176 patients entered had out-of-hospital ECGs diagnostic for STEMI, and 33/49 (67%) had resolved STEMI upon ED evaluation. Shorter resuscitation time (13 [interquartile range 5-18] vs 21 [14-28] minutes), p = 0.007), less epinephrine (3 [1-4] vs 5 [2-10] milligrams, p = 0.018), lower incidence of norepinephrine (5/33 (15%) vs 11/16 (69%), p ≤ 0.001), less time from ROSC to out-of-hospital ECG acquisition (5.5 [1-8] vs 8.5 [7-14] minutes, p = 0.044), and more time between out-of-hospital and ED ECG acquisition (34 [25-52] vs 21 [14-27] minutes, p = 0.001) were associated with resolution of out-of-hospital STEMI on ED evaluation. More defibrillations were associated with increased ischemia on ED ECG for patients with non-STEMI out-of-hospital ECGs.

ROSC patients with STEMI on out-of-hospital ECG commonly resolve in the ED (67%). These identified associations may better inform clinical decision making. Post-ROSC out-of-hospital 12-lead ECGs should be repeated on arrival in the ED.

Patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) following cardiac arrest are a critically important population requiring close monitoring and targeted interventions in the emergency department (ED). Therefore, it is important for emergency clinicians to be aware of the current evidence regarding the management of this condition.

This paper provides evidence-based updates concerning the management of the post-ROSC patient.

The patient with ROSC following cardiac arrest is critically ill, including a post-cardiac arrest syndrome which may include hypoxic brain injury, myocardial dysfunction, systemic ischemia and reperfusion injury, and persistent precipitating pathophysiology. Initial priorities in the ED setting in the post-ROSC patient include supporting cardiopulmonary function, addressing and managing the underlying cause of arrest, minimizing secondary cerebral injury, and correcting physiologic derangements. Testing including laboratory assessment, electrocardiogram (ECG), and imaging are necessary, aiming to evaluate for the precipitating cause and assess end-organ injury. Computed tomography head-to-pelvis may be helpful in the post-ROSC patient, particularly when the etiology of arrest is unclear. There are several important components of management, including targeting a mean arterial pressure of at least 65 mmHg, preferably >80 mmHg, to improve end-organ and cerebral perfusion pressure. An oxygenation target of 92-98 % is recommended using ARDSnet protocol, along with carbon dioxide partial pressure values of 35-55 mmHg. Antibiotics should be reserved for those with evidence of infection but may be considered if the patient is comatose, intubated, and undergoing hypothermic targeted temperature management (TTM). Corticosteroids should not be routinely administered. While the majority of cardiac arrests in adults are associated with cardiovascular disease, not all post-ROSC patients require emergent coronary angiography. However, if the patient has ST-segment elevation on ECG following ROSC, emergent angiography and catheterization is recommended. This should also be considered if the patient had an initial history concerning for acute coronary syndrome or a presenting arrhythmia of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia. TTM at 32-34° C does not appear to demonstrate improved outcomes compared with targeted normothermia, but fever should be avoided.

An understanding of literature updates can improve the ED care of patients post-ROSC.

For out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with refractory arrest, transport to hospital with ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)-"intra-arrest transport (IAT)"-is a treatment option, however it may reduce resuscitation quality. Unfortunately, international registries do not measure IAT directly, but other variables may be used to estimate IAT. We compared three indirect definitions to a direct measurement of IAT.

We included advanced life support-treated adult non-traumatic OHCA from a large metropolitan emergency medical services network (2021-2023). We reviewed prehospital records and cardiac monitor files to identify IAT, defined as CPR in progress at time of transport. We compared this to three indirect definitions, including transport prior to: (1) "Any ROSC"; (2)"Sustained ROSC" (≥20 min or present at ED); or, (3) "Post-ROSC Vitals" (1st blood pressure/12-lead ECG.) RESULTS: Of 1,269 cases, the median age was 71 years (IQR: 60-81), 523 (41%) were female, 128 (10%) had initial shockable rhythms, 336 (26%) achieved ROSC on scene and were transported (75 of 200 [38%] with available data experienced rearrest on scene). Overall, 472 (37%, 95% CI: 34-40%) received IAT (direct definition). Indirect definitions of "Any ROSC", "Sustained ROSC", and "Post-ROSC Vitals" demonstrated sensitivity and specificities of 78.0%/100.0%, 98.5%/97.0%, and 82.4%/97.6%, respectively.

Compared to a direct measurement of IAT, the indirect definition using "Any ROSC" demonstrated the lowest sensitivity; however, the definition using "Sustained ROSC" showed the highest sensitivity and specificity. These indirect definitions may support estimation of IAT within future research and quality initiatives.

Phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau), an early biomarker of neuronal damage, has emerged as a promising candidate for predicting neurological outcomes in cardiac arrest (CA) survivors. Despite its potential, the correlation of p-Tau with other clinical indicators remains underexplored. This study assesses the predictive capability of p-Tau and its effectiveness when used in conjunction with other predictors.

In this single-center retrospective study, 230 CA survivors had plasma and brain computed tomography scans collected within 24 h after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) from January 2016 to June 2023. The patients with prearrest Cerebral Performance Category scores ≥ 3 were excluded (n = 33). The neurological outcomes at discharge with Cerebral Performance Category scores 1-2 indicated favorable outcomes. Plasma p-Tau levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was recorded after ROSC, and the gray-to-white matter ratio (GWR) was calculated from brain computed tomography scans within 24 h after ROSC.

Of 197 patients enrolled in the study, 54 (27.4%) had favorable outcomes. Regression analysis showed that higher p-Tau levels correlated with unfavorable neurological outcomes. The levels of p-Tau were significantly correlated with DBP and GWR. For p-Tau to differentiate between neurological outcomes, an optimal cutoff of 456 pg/mL yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.71. Combining p-Tau, GWR, and DBP improved predictive accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.80 vs. 0.71, p = 0.008).

Plasma p-Tau levels measured within 24 h following ROSC, particularly when combined with GWR and DBP, may serve as a promising biomarker of neurological outcomes in CA survivors, with higher levels predicting unfavorable outcomes.

This study aimed to protect brain functions in patients who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest through the application of local cerebral hypothermia. By utilizing a specialized thermal hypothermia device, this approach sought to mitigate ischemic brain injury associated with post-cardiac arrest syndrome, enhance survival rates, and improve neurological outcomes as measured by standardized scales.

A prospective, single-center cohort study was conducted involving patients aged ≥18 years who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest and achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Patients were cooled using a hypothermia helmet to achieve a target temperature of 32°C-34°C, maintained for 36-72 h, followed by controlled rewarming and normothermia for 72 h. Neurological recovery was assessed using the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scale, where CPC 1-2 denotes good recovery and CPC 3-5 indicates poor outcomes. Body temperature, hemodynamic parameters, biochemical changes, and survival data were meticulously recorded and analyzed. Statistical analysis included paired t-tests to compare pre- and post-treatment data.

Of 116 cardiac arrest cases, 30 (25.86%) were in-hospital, and 16 (53.33%) of these achieved ROSC. Among the patients, 62.5% underwent emergency coronary angiography due to ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The mean time to hypothermia initiation was 32.9 ± 13.5 min, with hypothermia maintained for 58 ± 6.4 h. Neurological outcomes were favorable, with 62.5% of patients achieving CPC scores of 1 or 2, indicating functional recovery and independence. In contrast, CPC scores of 3 or higher were observed in 37.5% of patients, reflecting varying degrees of disability. Biochemical analysis revealed significant decreases in sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium levels, alongside increased urea and creatinine concentrations. Hemodynamic improvements included elevated systolic blood pressure and heart rate, while left ventricular ejection fraction remained stable. Overall survival was 75%, and the majority (62.5%) of survivors were discharged without significant neurological deficits.

The findings suggest that early and targeted application of craniocerebral thermal hypothermia has the potential to improve survival and preserve neurological function in post-cardiac arrest syndrome. The high rates of favorable outcomes, as reflected by CPC scores, underscore the neuroprotective effects of localized hypothermia. Further large-scale, multicenter trials are recommended to validate these promising results and refine protocols for optimal clinical application.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has a high mortality rate. Unlike ST-elevation myocardial infarction, the results of performing early coronary angiography (CAG) in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients are controversial. This study aimed to compare early and nonearly CAG in this population, in addition to the identification of differences between randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies conducted in this regard. A systematic search in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library was performed to identify the relevant studies. Random-effect meta-analysis was done to calculate the pooled effect size of early versus nonearly CAG outcomes in all studies in addition to each of the RCT and observational subgroups of the studies. The relative risk ratio (RR), along with its 95% confidence interval (CI), was used as a measure of difference. A total of 16 studies including 5234 cases were included in our analyses. Compared with observational cohorts, RCT studies had patients with higher baseline comorbidities (older age, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease). Random-effect analysis revealed a lower rate of in-hospital mortality in the early-CAG group (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.97; P = 0.02); however, RCT studies did not find a statistical difference in this outcome (RR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.83-1.23; P = 0.91). Moreover, mid-term mortality rates were lower in the early-CAG group (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.78-0.98; P = 0.02), mostly due to observational studies. There was no significant difference between the groups in other efficacy and safety outcomes. Although early CAG was associated with lower in-hospital and mid-term mortality in overall analyses, no such difference was confirmed by the results obtained from RCTs. Current evidence from RCTs may not be representative of real-world patients and should be interpreted within its limitation.

Coma and disorders of consciousness (DoC) are clinical syndromes primarily resulting from severe acute brain injury, with uncertain recovery trajectories that often necessitate prolonged supportive care. This imposes significant socioeconomic burdens on patients, caregivers, and society. Predicting recovery in comatose patients is a critical aspect of neurocritical care, and while current prognostication heavily relies on clinical assessments, such as pupillary responses and motor movements, which are far from precise, contemporary prognostication has integrated more advanced technologies like neuroimaging and electroencephalogram (EEG). Nonetheless, neurologic prognostication remains fraught with uncertainty and significant inaccuracies and is impacted by several forms of prognostication biases, including self-fulfilling prophecy bias, affective forecasting, and clinician treatment biases, among others. However, neurologic prognostication in patients with disorders of consciousness impacts life-altering decisions including continuation of treatment interventions vs withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies (WLST), which have a direct influence on survival and recovery after severe acute brain injury. In recent years, advancements in neuro-monitoring technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) have transformed the field of prognostication. These technologies have the potential to process vast amounts of clinical data and identify reliable prognostic markers, enhancing prediction accuracy in conditions such as cardiac arrest, intracerebral hemorrhage, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). For example, AI/ML modeling has led to the identification of new states of consciousness such as covert consciousness and cognitive motor dissociation, which may have important prognostic significance after severe brain injury. This chapter reviews the evolving landscape of neurologic prognostication in coma and DoC, highlights current pitfalls and biases, and summarizes the integration of clinical examination, neuroimaging, biomarkers, and neurophysiologic tools for prognostication in specific disease states. We will further discuss the future of neurologic prognostication, focusing on the integration of AI and ML techniques to deliver more individualized and accurate prognostication, ultimately improving patient outcomes and decision-making process in neurocritical care.

Cardiac arrest (CA) is an acute emergency with high mortality and is closely associated with the risk of brain damage or systemic ischemia-reperfusion injury, post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Targeted temperature management in the intensive care unit can improve the neurological outcomes of patients who are comatose after resuscitation from CA. However, there is often a lack of specific evaluation methods for optimal target temperature settings.

From November 2021 to October 2022, 9 CA patients received prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation and return of spontaneous circulation after approximately 10 to 30 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University.

We retrospectively reviewed 9 CA patients' medical data, including demographic characteristics, hemodynamic change, clinically relevant score, imageological examination, transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, electroencephalogram (EEG), somatosensory-evoked potential, and laboratory data.

According to the result of each patient's transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, somatosensory-evoked potential, and EEG to formulate an individualized target temperature. Contrary to the internationally recommended target of hypothermia, we found that not all patients require hypothermia therapy to maintain normal cerebrovascular autonomic regulation function. And neuron-specific enolase and S100β in patients showed a downward trend after hypothermia therapy. Compared with before hypothermia treatment, clinically relevant scores were reduced in patients with good prognosis. Intracranial congestion or ischemia was improved and intracranial pressure was reduced in all patients during hypothermia treatment. For patients with good EEG response, the ratio of gray matter in the brain increased and the neurological prognosis was significantly improved. Finally, after 6 months of follow-up, we found 3 patients died and 1 patient had a long-term vegetative state, the other patients had a good prognosis.

Individualized targeted temperature management under the guidance of multimodal brain monitoring plays an important role in brain protection of patients with CA.

Our hospital is a designated emergency hospital and accepts many patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Previously, after receiving a direct call from emergency services to request acceptance of an OHCA patient, the emergency room (ER) chief nurse notified medical staff. However, this method delayed ER preparations, so a Code Blue system (CB) was introduced in which the pending arrival of an OHCA patient was broadcast throughout the hospital.

In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the impact of introducing CB at our hospital on OHCA patient prognosis to examine whether the introduction of CB is clinically meaningful. We compared consecutive cases treated before introduction of the CB (March 3, 2022, to March 22, 2023) with those treated afterwards (March 23, 2023, to July 23, 2024).

A total of 30 cases per group were included. The mean number of medical staff present at admissions increased significantly from 5.4 ± 0.6 to 15.0 ± 3.0 (P < 0.001). Although not statistically significant, the introduction of the CB increased the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) rate from 20% to 30%, survival to discharge rate from 3% to 10%, and social reintegration rate from 0% to 3%. ROSC occurred in 15 patients. Among OHCA patients with cardiac disease, the ROSC rate tended to increase from 0% to 43% (P = 0.055). In addition, in OHCA patients with cardiac disease whose electrocardiogram initially showed ventricular fibrillation or pulseless electrical activity, the ROSC rate increased from 0% to 100%. ROSC tended to be influenced by the total number of staff and physicians present and the number of staff such as medical clerks, clinical engineers, and radiology technicians (P = 0.095, 0.076, 0.088, respectively).

Introduction of a CB may increase the ROSC rate and the number of patients surviving to discharge. It also appears to improve the quality of medical care by quickly gathering all necessary medical staff so that they can perform their predefined roles.

EEG reactivity (EEG-R) has become widely used in intensive care units for diagnosing and prognosticating patients with disorders of consciousness. Despite efforts toward standardization, including the establishment of terminology for critical care EEG in 2012, the processes of testing and interpreting EEG-R remain inconsistent.

A review was conducted on PubMed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Inclusion criteria consisted of articles published between January 2012, and November 2022, testing EEG-R on adult intensive care unit patients. Exclusion criteria included articles focused on highly specialized stimulation equipment or animal, basic science, or small case report studies. The Quality In Prognostic Studies tool was used to assess risk of bias.

One hundred and five articles were identified, with 26 variables collected for each. EEG-R testing varied greatly, including the number of stimuli (range: 1-8; 26 total described), stimulus length (range: 2-30 seconds), length between stimuli (range: 10 seconds-5 minutes), frequency of stimulus application (range: 1-9), frequency of EEG-R testing (range: 1-3 times daily), EEG electrodes (range: 4-64), personnel testing EEG-R (range: neurophysiologists to nonexperts), and sedation protocols (range: discontinuing all sedation to no attempt). EEG-R interpretation widely varied, including EEG-R definitions and grading scales, personnel interpreting EEG-R (range: EEG specialists to nonneurologists), use of quantitative methods, EEG filters, and time to detect EEG-R poststimulation (range: 1-30 seconds).

This study demonstrates the persistent heterogeneity of testing and interpreting EEG-R over the past decade, and contributing components were identified. Further many institutional efforts must be made toward standardization, focusing on the reproducibility and unification of these methods, and detailed documentation in the published literature.

The Efficacy of Inhaled Hydrogen on Neurologic Outcome Following Brain Ischemia During Post-Cardiac Arrest Care (HYBRID) II trial (jRCTs031180352) suggested that hydrogen inhalation may reduce post-cardiac arrest brain injury (PCABI). However, the combination of hypothermic target temperature management (TTM) and hydrogen inhalation on outcomes is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effect of hydrogen inhalation and hypothermic TTM on outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Post hoc analysis of a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

Fifteen Japanese ICUs.

Cardiogenic OHCA enrolled in the HYBRID II trial.

Hydrogen mixed oxygen (hydrogen group) versus oxygen alone (control group).

TTM was performed at a target temperature of 32-34°C (TTM32-TTM34) or 35-36°C (TTM35-TTM36) per the institutional protocol. The association between hydrogen + TTM32-TTM34 and 90-day good neurologic outcomes was analyzed using generalized estimating equations. The 90-day survival was compared between the hydrogen and control groups under TTM32-TTM34 and TTM35-TTM36, respectively. The analysis included 72 patients (hydrogen [ n = 39] and control [ n = 33] groups) with outcome data. TTM32-TTM34 was implemented in 25 (64%) and 24 (73%) patients in the hydrogen and control groups, respectively ( p = 0.46). Under TTM32-TTM34, 17 (68%) and 9 (38%) patients achieved good neurologic outcomes in the hydrogen and control groups, respectively (relative risk: 1.81 [95% CI, 1.05-3.66], p < 0.05). Hydrogen + TTM32-TTM34 was independently associated with good neurologic outcomes (adjusted odds ratio 16.10 [95% CI, 1.88-138.17], p = 0.01). However, hydrogen + TTM32-TTM34 did not improve survival compared with TTM32-TTM34 alone (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.22 [95% CI, 0.05-1.06], p = 0.06).

Hydrogen + TTM32-TTM34 was associated with improved neurologic outcomes after cardiogenic OHCA compared with TTM32-TTM34 monotherapy. Hydrogen inhalation is a promising treatment option for reducing PCABI when combined with TTM32-TTM34.

Coronary artery disease remains the largest contributor to cardiac arrests worldwide; yet, long-term outcomes are often driven by neurological status after resuscitation. We examined the association between pre-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) level of consciousness (LOC) and outcomes among patients with cardiac arrest who underwent PCI.

The study cohort included patients undergoing PCI after cardiac arrest between April 2018 and March 2022 at 48 hospitals in the state of Michigan. Pre-PCI LOC was categorized as mentally alert, partially responsive, unresponsive, and unable to assess. In-hospital outcomes included mortality, bleeding, and acute kidney injury.

Among 3021 patients who underwent PCI after cardiac arrest, 1394 (49%) were mentally alert, 132 (5%) were partially responsive, 698 (24%) were unresponsive, and 631 (22%) were unable to assess. The mentally alert cohort had lower mortality (4.59%) compared with the partially responsive (17.42%), unresponsive (50.14%), and unable to assess cohorts (38.03%; P<0.001). After adjusting for baseline differences, compared with mentally alert patients, the odds of mortality were markedly elevated in patients who were partially responsive (adjusted odds ratio, 4.63 [95% CI, 2.67-8.04]; P<0.001), unable to assess (adjusted odds ratio, 13.95 [95% CI, 9.97-19.51]; P<0.001), and unresponsive (adjusted odds ratio, 24.36 [17.34-34.23]; P<0.001). After adjustment, patients with impaired LOC also had higher risks of acute kidney injury and bleeding compared with mentally alert patients.

Pre-PCI LOC is a strong predictor of in-hospital outcomes after PCI among cardiac arrest patients. A patient's pre-PCI LOC should be considered an important factor when weighing treatment options, designing clinical trials, and counseling patients and their families regarding prognosis after PCI.

Simulation-based training is commonly used in medical education. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding best practices in debriefing. We aimed to identify novel solutions to this by adapting video-assisted debriefing (VAD) methodologies used in athletic training. We hypothesized that utilizing VAD would lead to improvements in performance during advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)-based simulations compared to traditional verbal debriefing (VD).

The study was conducted at a single medical school. Participants were fourth-year medical students engaging in ACLS simulation-based training as part of their emergency medicine rotation. After completing an ACLS-based simulation, participants received either VD or VAD and then completed a second simulation scenario. Our primary outcome was ACLS performance, graded by blinded reviewers utilizing a previously developed modified checklist. Secondary outcomes included time from cardiac arrest to initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first defibrillation. Measurements were made before and after the interventional debrief, referred to as pre- and postdebrief. A modified Likert-scale survey was used to subjectively assess the student's overall experience.

Forty-six groups of 275 students were included in the study. Mean ACLS performance score for VD and VAD postdebrief were 85% and 82%, respectively (p = 0.27). Mean time from arrest to CPR initiation for VD and VAD postdebrief groups were 20 and 24 s, respectively (p = 0.46). Mean time from arrest to defibrillation for VD and VAD postdebrief groups were 50 and 59 s, respectively (p = 0.39). For the Likert surveys, 85% or more of participants in both groups indicated that the session was "very helpful" in all survey categories.

VD and VAD both led to improvements in ACLS performance, time to initiation of CPR, and defibrillation among fourth-year medical students. Though postdebrief results were not statistically significantly different by comparison, overall VD led to greater improvement overall across all outcomes.

Grey-white matter ratio (GWR) measured by head computed tomography (CT) scan is known as a neurological prognostication tool for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors. The prognostic value of GWR obtained early (within two hours after return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC]) remains a matter of debate.

We conducted a multicenter, retrospective, observational study at five hospitals. We included adult OHCA survivors who underwent head CT within two hours following ROSC. GWR values were measured using head CT. Average GWR values were calculated by the mean of the GWR-basal ganglia and GWR-Cerebrum. We divided the patients into poor or favorable neurological outcome groups defined by Glasgow-Pittsburgh Cerebral Performance Category scores. The predictive accuracy of GWR performance was assessed using the area under the curve (AUC). The sensitivities and specificities for predicting poor outcome were examined.

Of 377 eligible patients, 281 (74.5%) showed poor neurological outcomes at one month after ROSC. Average GWR values of the poor neurological outcome group were significantly lower than those of the favorable neurological outcome. The average GWR value to predict neurological outcome with Youden index was 1.24 with AUC of 0.799. When average GWR values were 1.15 or lower, poor neurological outcomes could be predicted with 100% specificity.

GWR values measured by head CT scans early (within two hours after ROSC) demonstrated moderate predictive performance for overall ROSC patients. When limited to the patients with GWR values of 1.15 or lower, poor neurological outcomes could be predicted with high specificity.

The objective of this article was to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with early recurrent arrest (RA; <48 hours) and late RA (≥48 hours) among pediatric inpatients following an initial in-hospital cardiac arrest. A retrospective cohort study of inpatients was performed in a free-standing academic quaternary care children's hospital. All inpatients were <18 years old with a cardiac arrest event requiring ≥1 minute of cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the return of spontaneous circulation sustained for ≥20 minutes at Seattle Children's Hospital from February 1, 2012, to September 18, 2019. Of the 237 included patients, 20 (8%) patients had an early RA and 30 (13%) had a late RA. Older age and severe prearrest acidosis were associated with a higher risk of early RA, odds ratios (OR) = 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-1.3) per additional year and 4.6 (95% CI: 1.2-18.1), respectively. Prearrest organ dysfunction was also associated with a higher risk of early RA with an OR of 3.3 (95% CI: 1.1-9.4) for respiratory dysfunction, OR = 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1-1.9) for each additional dysfunctional organ system, and OR = 1.1 (95% CI: 1-1.2) for every one-point increase in PELOD2 score. The neonatal illness category was associated with a lower risk of late RA, OR 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1-0.97), and severe postarrest acidosis was associated with a higher risk of late RA, OR = 4.2 (95% CI: 1.1-15). Several demographic and clinical factors offer some ability to identify children who sustain a recurrent cardiac arrest, offering a potential opportunity for intervention to prevent early recurrent arrest.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health concern and encloses a wide spectrum of causes. The purpose of this study is to assess predictors and rate of survival at hospital discharge and long-term in the setting of OHCA. The secondary endpoint is to compare OHCA-survival outcomes of presumed ischemic versus non ischemic cause.

A retrospective cohort was conducted on 318 consecutive patients admitted for OHCA at Civilian Hospitals of Colmar between 2010 and 2019. Data concerning baseline characteristics, EKG, biological parameters, and coronary angiograms were collected. We observed the living status (alive or dead) of each of study's participants by March 2023.

The observed survival rate was 34.3 % at hospital discharge and 26.7 % at 7.1-year follow up. The mean age of study population was 63 ± 16 years and 32.7 % were women. 65.7 % of OHCA-patients underwent coronary angiography that revealed a significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in half of study participants. Primary angioplasty was performed in 43.4 % of study population. The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly higher in those with RBBB (83.7 % vs. 62.5 %, p = 0.004), diabetes mellitus (84.2 % vs. 59.9 %, p < 0.001), arterial hypertension (72.2 % vs. 57.7 %, p = 0.007), peripheral arterial disease (79.2 % vs. 52.2 %, p = 0.031) whereas it was lower in case of anterior STEMI (43.9 % vs 71.4 %, p < 0.001), presence of obstructive CAD (52.2 % vs. 79.2 %, p < 0.001), primary angioplasty performance (48.6 % vs. 78.9 %, p < 0.001), initial shockable rhythm (43.8 % vs. 88.6 %, p < 0.001), initial chest pain (49.4 % vs. 71.5 %, p < 0.001). After adjusting on covariates, the Cox model only identified an initial shockable rhythm as independent predictor of survival at hospital discharge [HR = 0.185, 95 %CI (0.085-0.404), p < 0.001] and 7-year follow up [HR = 0.201, 95 %CI (0.082-0.492), p < 0.001]. The Kaplan-Meier and log Rank test showed a difference in survival outcomes between OHCA with versus without CAD (p < 0.001).

The proportion of OHCA-survivors is small despite the development of emergency health care system. Initial shockable rhythm is the strong predictor of survival. OHCA of presumed coronary cause is associated with a better long-term survival outcome.

Purine nucleotide adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a source of intracellular energy maintained by mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. However, when released from ischemic cells into the extracellular space, they act as death-signaling molecules (eATP). Despite there being potential benefit in using pyruvate to enhance mitochondria by inducing a highly oxidative metabolic state, its association with eATP levels is still poorly understood. Therefore, while we hypothesized that pyruvate could beneficially increase intracellular ATP with the enhancement of mitochondrial function after cardiac arrest (CA), our main focus was whether a proportion of the raised intracellular ATP would detrimentally leak out into the extracellular space. As indicated by the increased levels in systemic oxygen consumption, intravenous administrations of bolus (500 mg/kg) and continuous infusion (1000 mg/kg/h) of pyruvate successfully increased oxygen metabolism in post 10-min CA rats. Plasma ATP levels increased significantly from 67 ± 11 nM before CA to 227 ± 103 nM 2 h after the resuscitation; however, pyruvate administration did not affect post-CA ATP levels. Notably, pyruvate improved post-CA cardiac contraction and acidemia (low pH). We also found that pyruvate increased systemic CO2 production post-CA. These data support that pyruvate has therapeutic potential for improving CA outcomes by enhancing oxygen and energy metabolism in the brain and heart and attenuating intracellular hydrogen ion disorders, but does not exacerbate the death-signaling of eATP in the blood.

Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is a common complication of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

We investigated whether grey-to-white matter ratio (GWR) values, measured using early head computed tomography (HCT), were associated with neurologic outcomes based on the severity of HIBI in survivors of OHCA.

This retrospective multicenter study included adult comatose OHCA survivors who underwent an HCT scan within 2 h after the return of spontaneous circulation. HIBI severity was assessed using the revised post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome for Therapeutic hypothermia (rCAST) scale (low, moderate, and severe). Poor neurologic outcomes were defined as Cerebral Performance Categories 3 to 5 at 6 months after OHCA.

Among 354 patients, 27% were women and 224 (63.3%) had poor neurologic outcomes. The distribution of severity was 19.5% low, 47.5% moderate, and 33.1% severe. The area under the receiver operating curves of the GWR values for predicting rCAST severity (low, moderate, and severe) were 0.52, 0.62, and 0.79, respectively. The severe group had significantly higher predictive performance than the moderate group (p = 0.02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between GWR values and poor neurologic outcomes in the moderate group (adjusted odds ratio = 0.012, 95% CI 0.0-0.54, p = 0.02).

In this cohort study, GWR values measured using early HCT demonstrated variations in predicting neurologic outcomes based on HIBI severity. Furthermore, GWR in the moderate group was associated with poor neurologic outcomes.

The morbidity and mortality of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) due to presumed cardiac causes have remained unwaveringly high over the last few decades. Less than 10% of patients survive until hospital discharge. Treatment of OHCA patients has traditionally relied on expert opinions. However, there is growing evidence on managing OHCA patients favorably during the prehospital phase, coronary and intensive care, and even beyond hospital discharge. To improve outcomes in OHCA, experts have proposed the establishment of cardiac arrest centers (CACs) as pivotal elements. CACs are expert facilities that pool resources and staff, provide infrastructure, treatment pathways, and networks to deliver comprehensive and guideline-recommended post-cardiac arrest care, as well as promote research. This review aims to address knowledge gaps in the 2020 consensus on CACs of major European medical associations, considering novel evidence on critical issues in both pre- and in-hospital OHCA management, such as the timing of coronary angiography and the use of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR). The goal is to harmonize new evidence with the concept of CACs.

Background: The search for the best therapeutic approach in cardiopulmonary resuscitations (CPR) remains open to question. In this study, we evaluated if Amiodarone administration during CPR was associated with short-term mortality or neurological development. Methods: A total of 232 patients with sudden cardiac arrest (CA) with shockable rhythms were included in our analysis. Propensity score matching based on age, gender, type of CA, and CPR duration was used to stratify between patients with and without Amiodarone during CPR. Primary endpoints were short-term mortality (30-day) and neurological outcomes assessed by the cerebral performance category. Secondary endpoints were plasma lactate, phosphate levels at hospital admission, and the peak Neuron-specific enolase. Results: Propensity score matching was successful with a caliper size used for matching of 0.089 and a sample size of n = 82 per group. The 30-day mortality rates were similar between both groups (p = 0.24). There were no significant differences in lactate levels at hospital admission and during the following five days between the groups. Patients receiving Amiodarone showed slightly higher phosphate levels at hospital admission, while the levels decreased to a similar value during the following days. Among CA survivors to hospital discharge, no differences between the proportion of good neurological outcomes were detected between the two groups (p = 0.58), despite slightly higher peak neuron-specific enolase levels in CA patients receiving Amiodarone (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Amiodarone administration is not associated with short-term mortality or neurological outcomes in CA patients with shockable rhythms receiving CPR.

Selective water uptake by neurons and glial cells and subsequent brain tissue oedema are key pathophysiological processes of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) after cardiac arrest (CA). Although brain computed tomography (CT) is widely used to assess the severity of HIE, changes of brain radiodensity over time have not been investigated. These could be used to quantify regional brain net water uptake (NWU), a potential prognostic biomarker.

We conducted an observational prognostic accuracy study including a derivation (single center cardiac arrest registry) and a validation (international multicenter TTM2 trial) cohort. Early (<6 h) and follow-up (>24 h) head CTs of CA patients were used to determine regional NWU for grey and white matter regions after co-registration with a brain atlas. Neurological outcome was dichotomized as good versus poor using the Cerebral Performance Category Scale (CPC) in the derivation cohort and Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) in the validation cohort.

We included 115 patients (81 derivation, 34 validation) with out-of-hospital (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). Regional brain water content remained unchanged in patients with good outcome. In patients with poor neurological outcome, we found considerable regional water uptake with the strongest effect in the basal ganglia. NWU >8% in the putamen and caudate nucleus predicted poor outcome with 100% specificity (95%-CI: 86-100%) and 43% (moderate) sensitivity (95%-CI: 31-56%).

This pilot study indicates that NWU derived from serial head CTs is a promising novel biomarker for outcome prediction after CA. NWU >8% in basal ganglia grey matter regions predicted poor outcome while absence of NWU indicated good outcome. NWU and follow-up CTs should be investigated in larger, prospective trials with standardized CT acquisition protocols.

Application of standardised and automated assessments of head computed tomography (CT) for neuroprognostication after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Prospective, international, multicentre, observational study within the Targeted Hypothermia versus Targeted Normothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (TTM2) trial. Routine CTs from adult unconscious patients obtained > 48 h ≤ 7 days post-arrest were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively by seven international raters blinded to clinical information using a pre-published protocol. Grey-white-matter ratio (GWR) was calculated from four (GWR-4) and eight (GWR-8) regions of interest manually placed at the basal ganglia level. Additionally, GWR was obtained using an automated atlas-based approach. Prognostic accuracies for prediction of poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale 4-6) for the qualitative assessment and for the pre-defined GWR cutoff < 1.10 were calculated.

140 unconscious patients were included; median age was 68 years (interquartile range [IQR] 59-76), 76% were male, and 75% had poor outcome. Standardised qualitative assessment and all GWR models predicted poor outcome with 100% specificity (95% confidence interval [CI] 90-100). Sensitivity in median was 37% for the standardised qualitative assessment, 39% for GWR-8, 30% for GWR-4 and 41% for automated GWR. GWR-8 was superior to GWR-4 regarding prognostic accuracies, intra- and interrater agreement. Overall prognostic accuracy for automated GWR (area under the curve [AUC] 0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.91) did not significantly differ from manually obtained GWR.

Standardised qualitative and quantitative assessments of CT are reliable and feasible methods to predict poor functional outcome after cardiac arrest. Automated GWR has the potential to make CT quantification for neuroprognostication accessible to all centres treating cardiac arrest patients.