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Article: Chill out: therapeutic hypothermia improves survival: two clinical trials published last year hove shown that therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest can significantly improve neurological outcome. FIONA MORCOM examines the methods used in the trials and their results, and how they have influenced practice at a UK trust. (clinical).
- Article from:
- Emergency Nurse
- Article date:
- July 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Royal College of Nursing Publishing Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a common event and is a major cause of unexpected death in developed countries. An estimated 375,000 people in Europe undergo sudden cardiac arrest each year, with survival rates ranging from below 5 per cent to 35 per cent (Eisenberg et al 1990, Myerburg et al 1997, Bernard 1998).
The relatively poor survival rates for this significant patient group will come as no surprise to those working in emergency departments. If return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is achieved, many survivors will have irreversible hypoxic brain damage. Supportive measures are often the only option for these patients, who may suffer delayed death days ...