Number needed to treat = six: therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest – an effective and cheap approach to save lives
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* Corresponding author: Bernd W Böttiger bernd.boettiger@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Critical Care 2007, 11:162 doi:10.1186/cc6100
Published: 31 August 2007Abstract
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.