Temperature Management for Comatose Adult Survivors of Cardiac Arrest

Published: August 16, 2023

heart rate monitor, patient and doctors in background in emergency room
  • Neurologic injury remains the most common cause of death in patients who achieve return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest.
  • Temperature management, historically at mildly hypothermic temperatures, has been used widely since 2002 as the main treatment thought to improve neurologic outcome after cardiac arrest
  • A large trial (Dankiewicz 2021) including patients with OHCA of presumed cardiac etiology, published in 202, raised questions about whether temperature management at sub-normal temperatures truly improves outcomes.