Cognitive Outcomes After Hypothermia for Cardiac Arrest
Cognitive Outcomes After Hypothermia for Cardiac Arrest
This is the Medscape Neurology Minute. I am Dr. Alan Jacobs. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, presented a paper at the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology showing cognitive outcomes in patients treated with hypothermia after cardiac arrest. Previous data have shown that hypothermia improves survival rates for resuscitated cardiac arrest from about 1:6 to 1:2. The current study involved 133 consecutive survivors of cardiac arrest who underwent therapeutic hypothermia between June 2006 and May 2011. Fifty-five patients underwent a telephone interview for cognitive status -- a short, simple cognitive tool. The median score for the group was 33 with a range of 16 to 41. Thirty-three patients (60%) were considered cognitively normal and 22 (40%) were considered to have mild cognitive impairment. The time to assessment did not differ among the cognitive outcomes. Of the 38 patients who had been working up to the time of cardiac arrest, 30 had returned to work. Cognitive outcome was not associated with age, time to return to spontaneous circulation, brain atrophy, leukoaraiosis, or neuron-specific enolase levels. The investigators conclude that most patients surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who are treated with therapeutic hypothermia have preserved cognitive function and are able to return to work. This has been the Medscape Neurology Minute. I'm Dr. Alan Jacobs.
This is the Medscape Neurology Minute. I am Dr. Alan Jacobs. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, presented a paper at the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology showing cognitive outcomes in patients treated with hypothermia after cardiac arrest. Previous data have shown that hypothermia improves survival rates for resuscitated cardiac arrest from about 1:6 to 1:2. The current study involved 133 consecutive survivors of cardiac arrest who underwent therapeutic hypothermia between June 2006 and May 2011. Fifty-five patients underwent a telephone interview for cognitive status -- a short, simple cognitive tool. The median score for the group was 33 with a range of 16 to 41. Thirty-three patients (60%) were considered cognitively normal and 22 (40%) were considered to have mild cognitive impairment. The time to assessment did not differ among the cognitive outcomes. Of the 38 patients who had been working up to the time of cardiac arrest, 30 had returned to work. Cognitive outcome was not associated with age, time to return to spontaneous circulation, brain atrophy, leukoaraiosis, or neuron-specific enolase levels. The investigators conclude that most patients surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who are treated with therapeutic hypothermia have preserved cognitive function and are able to return to work. This has been the Medscape Neurology Minute. I'm Dr. Alan Jacobs.
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