Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec 28;2(4):210-216.
doi: 10.15441/ceem.15.018. eCollection 2015 Dec.

A survey-based study on the protocols for therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac arrest patients in Korea: focusing on the differences between level 1 and 2 centers

Tae Gwan Oh  1 , Won Chul Cha  1 , Ik Joon Jo  1 , Mun Ju Kang  2 , Dong Woo Lee  2
Affiliations

A survey-based study on the protocols for therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac arrest patients in Korea: focusing on the differences between level 1 and 2 centers

Tae Gwan Oh et al. Clin Exp Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to summarize the therapeutic hypothermia (TH) protocols used in emergency departments (EDs) in Korea and to investigate the differences between level 1 and 2 centers.

Methods: The chief residents from 56 EDs were given a structured survey containing questions on the indications for TH, methods for TH induction, maintaining, and finalizing TH treatments. The participants were divided into 2 groups based on their work place (level 1 vs. level 2 centers).

Results: We received 36 responses to the survey. The majority of the participants (94.4%) reported that they routinely used TH. An average of 5.9 (standard deviation, 3.4) and 3.3 (standard deviation, 2.9) TH procedures were performed monthly in level 1 and 2 centers, respectively (P=0.01). The majority of level 1 and 2 centers (80.0% and 73.1%, respectively) had written TH protocols. Rectal (50.0%) and esophageal probes (38.9%) were most commonly used to monitor the patients' body temperatures. Midazolam (80.6%) and remifentanyl (47.2%) were the most commonly used sedatives. For TH induction, external cooling devices (77.8%) and cold saline infusion (66.1%) were predominant. Between level 1 and 2 centers, only the number of TH, the usage of remifentanyl, and application of external cooling device showed significant differences (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Our study summarizes the TH protocols used in 36 EDs. The majority of study participants performed TH using a written protocol. We observed small number of differences in TH induction and maintenance methods between level 1 and 2 centers.

Keywords: Clinical protocols; Heart arrest; Hypothermia; Republic of Korea.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The locations of the emergency departments that were enrolled or excluded from this study are depicted. The existence (or absence) of a written therapeutic hypothermia (TH) protocol is also demonstrated.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Peberdy MA, Callaway CW, Neumar RW, et al. Part 9: postcardiac arrest care. 2010 American Heart Association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation. 2010;122(18 Suppl 3):S768–86. - PubMed
    1. Nolan JP, Soar J, Zideman DA, et al. European Resuscitation Council guidelines for resuscitation 2010 section 1: executive summary. Resuscitation. 2010;81:1219–76. - PubMed
    1. Abella BS, Rhee JW, Huang KN, Vanden Hoek TL, Becker LB. Induced hypothermia is underused after resuscitation from cardiac arrest: a current practice survey. Resuscitation. 2005;64:181–6. - PubMed
    1. Nielsen N, Wetterslev J, Cronberg T, et al. Targeted temperature management at 33°C versus 36°C after cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med. 2013;369:2197–206. - PubMed
    1. Cahill EA, Tirschwell DL, Khot S. An update in postcardiac arrest management and prognosis in the era of therapeutic hypothermia. Neurohospitalist. 2014;4:144–52. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources