Therapeutic Hypothermia After the Return of Spontaneous Circulation

Overview

The purpose of this study is to determine if induced therapeutic hypothermia (ITH) in the pre-hospital setting of a four county emergency medical system (EMS) that serves both urban and rural communities improves meaningful survival from medical cardiac arrest.

Full Title of Study: “Induction of Therapeutic Hypothermia in the Pre-hospital Setting After the Return on Spontaneous Circulation: A Randomized Controlled Study”

Study Type

  • Study Type: Interventional
  • Study Design
    • Allocation: Randomized
    • Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
    • Primary Purpose: Treatment
    • Masking: None (Open Label)
  • Study Primary Completion Date: February 2014

Detailed Description

Induction of therapeutic hypothermia after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in medical cardiac arrest is increasingly becoming the standard of care in the hospital setting. Several studies, including two sentinel research papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, show improved neurologic outcome with induced therapeutic hypothermia (ITH). 4, 5 This research led to a class IIa recommendation by the American Heart Association for ITH after ROSC in V-Fib arrest and a class IIb recommendation after ROSC in all other classes of medial cardiac arrest.6 The role of ITH in the pre-hospital setting is less clear. Studies currently exist that both show a benefit and fail to support improved outcomes.7-9 It has been suggested that the short transport times in most urban EMS systems might be part of the reason that some studies have failed to find benefit of ITH in the pre-hospital setting. This is a prospective, randomized controlled trial involving all patients transported by CCEMS who have ROSC after a medical cardiac arrest and who are transported to a hospital that can continue ITH for 24 hours. All comatose patients who meet inclusion criteria will be randomized to either ITH in addition to continued treatment under standing protocols or regular care without ITH. Assignment to the two treatment arms will be done using the EMS number which is generated when the ambulance is dispatched to a call. Even numbered patients will have continued standard therapy while odd numbered patients will receive ITH.

Interventions

  • Other: Induced therapeutic hypothermia
    • induced therapeutic hypothermia

Arms, Groups and Cohorts

  • Experimental: Induced Hypothermia
    • Induced hypothermia after the return of spontaneous circulation by the application of ice packs to the axilla and groin with cold IV fluids
  • No Intervention: Regular Care
    • Treatment of the return of spontaneous circulation under standing paramedic protocol without the addition of induced therapeutic hypothermia

Clinical Trial Outcome Measures

Primary Measures

  • Induced therapeutic hypothermia in the pre-hospital setting improves outcomes
    • Time Frame: followed until hospital discharge estimated to be from 2 days to 1 year if resuscitated
    • Induced hypothermia and continued treatment under standing paramedic protocols. To determine if ITH in the pre-hospital setting improves outcomes at hospital discharge

Secondary Measures

  • Regular treatment without induced therapeutic hypothermia
    • Time Frame: followed until hospital discharge estimated to be from 2 days to 1 year if resuscitated
    • Patients will be treated under standing paramedic protocols without the induction of hypothermia. To determine if there is a difference in these outcomes in patients with prolonged transport to the hospital (> 20 minutes) versus those with shorter transport times.

Participating in This Clinical Trial

Inclusion Criteria

  • All patient transported by CCEMS with ROSC after a medical Cardiac Arrest to hospitals that can continue ITH Exclusion Criteria:

  • Less than 18 – Cardiac arrest due to trauma or hemorrhage – Pregnant women – patients whom are already hypothermic – transported to a hospital that can not maintain hypothermia for 24 hours

Gender Eligibility: All

Minimum Age: 18 Years

Maximum Age: N/A

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted: No

Investigator Details

  • Lead Sponsor
    • University of California, San Francisco
  • Provider of Information About this Clinical Study
    • Principal Investigator: Lori Weichenthal, Associate Residency Director, Wilderness Medicine Director – University of California, San Francisco
  • Overall Official(s)
    • Lori Weichenthal, MD, Principal Investigator, University of California, San Francisco

References

Finn JC, Bett JH, Shilton TR, Cunningham C, Thompson PL; National Heart Foundation of Australia Chest Pain Every Minute Counts Working Group. Patient delay in responding to symptoms of possible heart attack: can we reduce time to care? Med J Aust. 2007 Sep 3;187(5):293-8. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01247.x.

Fridman M, Barnes V, Whyman A, Currell A, Bernard S, Walker T, Smith KL. A model of survival following pre-hospital cardiac arrest based on the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Register. Resuscitation. 2007 Nov;75(2):311-22. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2007.05.005. Epub 2007 Jun 20.

Jennings PA, Cameron P, Walker T, Bernard S, Smith K. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Victoria: rural and urban outcomes. Med J Aust. 2006 Aug 7;185(3):135-9. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00498.x.

Zeiner A, Holzer M, Sterz F, Behringer W, Schorkhuber W, Mullner M, Frass M, Siostrzonek P, Ratheiser K, Kaff A, Laggner AN. Mild resuscitative hypothermia to improve neurological outcome after cardiac arrest. A clinical feasibility trial. Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest (HACA) Study Group. Stroke. 2000 Jan;31(1):86-94. doi: 10.1161/01.str.31.1.86.

Bernard SA, Gray TW, Buist MD, Jones BM, Silvester W, Gutteridge G, Smith K. Treatment of comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with induced hypothermia. N Engl J Med. 2002 Feb 21;346(8):557-63. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa003289.

Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care. Emergency Cardiac Care Committee and Subcommittees, American Heart Association. Part IV. Special resuscitation situations. JAMA. 1992 Oct 28;268(16):2242-50. No abstract available.

Hinchey PR, Myers JB, Lewis R, De Maio VJ, Reyer E, Licatese D, Zalkin J, Snyder G; Capital County Research Consortium. Improved out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival after the sequential implementation of 2005 AHA guidelines for compressions, ventilations, and induced hypothermia: the Wake County experience. Ann Emerg Med. 2010 Oct;56(4):348-57. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2010.01.036. Epub 2010 Mar 31.

Bernard SA, Smith K, Cameron P, Masci K, Taylor DM, Cooper DJ, Kelly AM, Silvester W; Rapid Infusion of Cold Hartmanns (RICH) Investigators. Induction of therapeutic hypothermia by paramedics after resuscitation from out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest: a randomized controlled trial. Circulation. 2010 Aug 17;122(7):737-42. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.906859. Epub 2010 Aug 2.

Cabanas JG, Brice JH, De Maio VJ, Myers B, Hinchey PR. Field-induced therapeutic hypothermia for neuroprotection after out-of hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review of the literature. J Emerg Med. 2011 Apr;40(4):400-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2010.07.002. Epub 2010 Sep 17.

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