Rebound hyperthermia linked to worse neurologic outcomes, mortality in survivors of cardiac arrest

Rebound hyperthermia, or fever, is common after controlled body cooling to treat comatose survivors of cardiac arrest, but a new study presents evidence of significantly worse neurologic outcomes. The study, which showed severe rebound hyperthermia to be associated with both significantly worse neurologic outcomes and mortality, is published in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. (http://www.liebertpub.com/) The article is available free on the Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ther.2017.0009) website until November 23, 2017.

In the article entitled "Clinical Effect of Rebound Hyperthermia After Cooling Postcardiac Arrest: A Meta-Analysis," (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ther.2017.0009) coauthors Parth Makker, MD, Yumiko Kanei, MD, and Deepkia Misra, MD, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY, reviewed the results of studies published in the medical literature. These studies have produced conflicting results. The researchers performed a meta-analysis of multiple studies to gain a better understanding of the clinical significance of fever after therapeutic hypothermia treatment, which effects approximately half of patients.

"This timely publication is important because it emphasizes the potentially detrimental effects of rebound hyperthermia on neurological outcomes in survivors of cardiac arrest. This information should be taken into account during the rewarming phase of the hypothermic treatment," says W. Dalton Dietrich, III, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, Scientific Director of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

Source: http://www.liebertpub.com/global/pressrelease/meta-analysis-uncovers-poor-outcomes-due-to-rebound-hyperthermia-after-post-cardiac-arrest-body-cooling-therapy/2276/