Temperature management after cardiac arrest

Purpose of review Temperature management for patients comatose after cardiac arrest has been an integral component of postcardiac arrest care for the last decade. In this review, we present recent findings and discuss implications for future trials. Recent findings The two largest trials on temperature management after cardiac arrest were recently presented. The first investigated prehospital induction of hypothermia using ice-cold intravenous saline in 1364 patients. The intervention gave a significant reduction in time from return of circulation to start of hypothermia and lower body temperature on admission to hospital. There was no difference in survival or neurological function between the study groups, but there were indications of possible harm in the group that received saline. The second trial investigated two actively controlled temperatures provided in intensive care units, randomizing 950 unconscious patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of a presumed cardiac cause to targeted temperature management at 33 and 36 degrees C. There was no difference in survival until end of trial or neurological function at 180 days. Summary Prehospital hypothermia induced by cold crystalloid infusion does not benefit cardiac arrest patients. For patients treated in an intensive care unit targeting a temperature of 36 degrees C provides similar results as targeting 33 degrees C.