Holy Cross Hospital offers a specialized therapy for patients who survive cardiac arrest. Until recently, there has been no efficacious treatment to prevent brain damage after cardiac arrest. The therapy, Induced Hypothermia, has been shown to decrease mortality and increase the rate of favorable neurologic outcomes in these patients.
Members of the Induced Hypothermia Steering Committee (l-r) Mary Naccarato, RN, Dr. Mark Caputo, Dr. Edward Coopersmith, and Tracy Melhuish, RN, by the special temperature regulating machine
Patients who survive cardiac arrest undergo lowering of the “core” body temperature to 34o C/89.6o F. The therapy is initiated by placement of specialized catheter into the femoral vein. The femoral catheter is connected to a temperature regulating device which can manipulate body temperature. The device maintains hypothermia for 24 hours. The device is programmed to rewarm the patient after 24 hours. The typical patient will be one that survives out-of hospital cardiac arrest after experiencing sudden death from ventricular fibrillation. Despite successful resuscitation and return of spontaneous circulation these patient remain comatose with some degree of brain injury. These patients have been shown to benefit from Induced Hypothermia.
In 2005, the American Heart Associations post-resuscitation guidelines gave Induced Hypothermia a strong recommendation. This recommendation reflects irrefutable evidence that this treatment saves lives and improves neurologic outcomes in patients with otherwise very poor prognoses.
At Holy Cross Hospital, a team of expert clinicians, including Emergency Physicians, Intensivists, Critical Care nurses, and Advanced Practice nurses have developed the cooling protocol. An intensive educational process of a multidisciplinary team has ensued. The Holy Cross team has collaborated with pre-hospital providers to ensure a seamless transition from the field to hospital. Following eight months of preparation and education, the Induced Hypothermia program was implemented October 15, 2007.
