Scientists in Europe have shown that the survival chances of a person in cardiac arrest may be improved by lowering their body temperature early on during their treatment.
At present, cooling is recommended for patients who are comatose following a cardiac arrest. The method reduces injury to the brain and other tissues when the patient’s blood supply returns to normal. However, scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm have now shown that the technique may be even more beneficial if applied by emergency response teams prior to arriving at hospital. Patients whose body temperature was lowered by emergency medical teams early during resuscitation were found to be more likely to survive without brain damage. Lead study author Dr Maaret Castren revealed: “We now have a method that is safe and can be started within minutes of cardiac arrest to minimise damage during this very critical period.” The team studied 182 adults, 99 of whom received standard resuscitation while 83 were given resuscitation with cooling, which was administered as soon as possible during the cardiac arrest. A battery-operated device called RhinoChill was used, which delivers coolant via nasal prongs, cooling the brain while CPR is being performed in the field. Nearly half of patients who were cooled survived to hospital discharge, compared with 31% of those who received standard care. Among those who were treated within ten minutes of cardiac arrest, nearly 60% of those cooled survived to hospital discharge, compared with around 30% of those receiving standard resuscitation. “Our results show that the earlier you can do the cooling, the better,” confirmed Dr Castren, who presented the findings at the annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.
