Number needed to treat = six: therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest – an effective and cheap approach to save lives

doi:10.1186/cc6100

Critical Care
Volume 11
Issue 4

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Commentary

Number needed to treat = six: therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest – an effective and cheap approach to save lives

Bernd W Böttiger , Andreas Schneider and Erik Popp

Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany

author email corresponding author email

Critical Care 2007, 11:162doi:10.1186/cc6100


Published:	31 August 2007

See related research by Pichon et al., http://ccforum.com/content/11/3/R71

Abstract

In 2005, the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines stated: Unconscious adult patients with spontaneous circulation after out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest should be cooled to 32 to 34°C for 12 to 24 hours. Patients with cardiac arrest from a non-shockable rhythm, in-hospital patients and children may also benefit from hypothermia. There is no argument to wait. We have to treat the next unconscious cardiac arrest patient with hypothermia.