Abstract
Therapeutic hypothermia is recommended to reduce the risk of hypoxic brain damage and improve short-term survival after cardiac arrest. It also temporarily affects the cardiac conduction system. The aim of this study was to evaluate electrocardiographic changes during therapeutic hypothermia and their impact on the outcome. This retrospective analysis involved 26 patients who underwent therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest in Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos from 2011 to 2015. During cooling, a significant reduction in the heart rate (p = 0.013), shortening of QRS complex duration (p = 0.041), and prolongation of the QTc interval (p < 0.001) were observed. During the cooling period, five patients had subtle Osborn waves, which disappeared after rewarming. The association between electrocardiographic changes during cooling and unfavourable neurological outcome or in-hospital mortality was non-significant. Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest causes reversible electrocardiographic changes that do not increase the risk of in-hospital mortality or unfavourable neurological outcomes.
Highlights
The risk of neurological damage remains high even after successful restoration of spontaneous circulation [1, 2]
Therapeutic hypothermia is recommended to reduce the risk of hypoxic brain damage and improve short-term survival after cardiac arrest
Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest causes reversible electrocardiographic changes that do not increase the risk of in-hospital mortality or unfavourable neurological outcomes
Summary
The risk of neurological damage remains high even after successful restoration of spontaneous circulation [1, 2]. Many studies have shown that hypothermia significantly reduces the risk of hypoxic brain damage, affects cardiac conduction, and has a positive effect on short-term survival [3,4,5]. Therapeutic hypothermia is strongly recommended to prevent brain damage after cardiac arrest [2] It causes specific electrocardiographic (ECG) changes including sinus bradycardia and prolongation of the PR interval, QRS complex, and QTc interval [6, 7]. The aim of this study was to evaluate ECG changes during therapeutic hypothermia and their impact on the outcome. Therapeutic hypothermia is recommended to reduce the risk of hypoxic brain damage and improve short-term survival after cardiac arrest. It temporarily affects the cardiac conduction system. The aim of this study was to evaluate electrocardiographic changes during therapeutic hypothermia and their impact on the outcome
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