Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest: a literature review

Abstract

Cardiac arrest is an event that provides an elevated mortality rate. When not fatal, it can lead to neurological and other systems impairment, which may affect the prognosis of the patient. To avoid cerebral damage related to the event, some methods are indicated including therapeutic hypothermia. However, it remains unknown yet how effective is this procedure to mitigate such risk. The purpose of this literature review consisted in the systematic review of current data in order to collect what is most relevant about hypothermia as a therapeutic modality in patients after cardiac arrest. Online databases like SCIELO, MEDLINE, LILACS and PUBMED were used for the development of this review. The choice of hypothermia as a therapeutic measure in the moment post-cardiac arrest has appeared as an effective choice, especially after the analysis of biological and biochemical markers and imaging exams, which are important neurologic outcomes predictors. The achievement of a lower temperature at a specific time has showed itself as an important aspect in the neurologic outcome improvement. Therefore, it contributes to the consolidation of the hypothermia as an effective approach post-cardiac arrest. Therefore, it is possible to determine that its use has been proven as beneficial.