Feasibility and Safety of Targeted Temperature Management During Interhospital Transport of Post-Cardiac Arrest Patients

ObjectivesEarly initiation of targeted temperature management (TTM) is crucial for post-resuscitation care. Although TTM is initiated prior to transport and continued during interhospital transport (IHT), its feasibility and safety during IHT for cardiac arrest patients have not been thoroughly assessed. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and safety of interhospital TTM for post-resuscitation patients.MethodsA retrospective analysis of post-cardiac arrest patients transported by a dedicated critical care transport team between January 2016 and April 2023 was conducted. Adult patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest without mental recovery were enrolled. The study population was divided into those who received TTM during IHT (IHT-TTM group) and those who did not (non-IHT-TTM group). The primary outcome was body temperature drop during transport, with hypotension, or desaturation during transport considered as secondary outcomes. Multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was performed after frequency matching.ResultsAmong 593 post-cardiac arrest patients, 332 were included in the analysis after exclusions. Of these, 44 (13.3%) received TTM during IHT. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed significantly higher likelihood for a drop in body temperature during IHT for the IHT-TTM group, with an odds ratio (OR) of 12.91 (95%CI: 5.28-31.53). No significant association was found for hypotension (OR (95%CI): 0.72 (0.13-3.97)), or desaturation during IHT (0.65 (0.15-2.82)).ConclusionsAdministration of TTM during IHT for post-cardiac arrest patients appears to be feasible and safe. These findings support the implementation of dedicated critical care transport systems capable of providing TTM during IHT for post-cardiac arrest patients.