Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest With Non Shockable Rhythm (HYPERION)

Lascarrou. NEJM 2019; published on-line; DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa1906661

Clinical Question

-  In patients with coma following cardiac arrest with a non-shockable rhythm, does moderate hypothermia vs. normothermia, improve neurological outcome?

N = 584, 25 ICUs in France

Authors’ Conclusions

-  In patients with coma following a non-shockable cardiac arrest, the use of moderate hypothermia improved favourable neurological outcome at 90 days compared with targeted normothermia

The Bottom Line

-  This randomised controlled trial reported significantly improved neurological outcomes in patients with coma following a non-shockable cardiac arrest, who were treated with moderate hypothermia compared with normothermia
-  Due to a number of differences between the treatment of the intervention and the control groups, as well as the low fragility index and the significant number of patients who developed a fever in the control group, further evidence is required to confirm these findings