Feasibility and efficacy of a new non-invasive surface cooling device in post-resuscitation intensive care medicine

SummaryAim of the studyThere is sufficient evidence that therapeutic hypothermia after non-traumatic cardiac arrest improves neurological outcome and reduces mortality. Many different invasive and non-invasive cooling devices are currently available. Our purpose was to show the efficacy, safety and feasibility using a non-invasive cooling device to control patient temperature within a range of 33–37 °C.Materials and methodsA convenience sample of patients who have been resuscitated successfully from cardiac arrest and were intended for mild hypothermia therapy according to the guidelines and inclusion criteria were studied in a prospective observational case series at an emergency department of a tertiary care university hospital.The Medivance Arctic Sun System provides a new, non-invasive approach to reach a target temperature of 33 °C quickly, to maintain the target temperature for 24 h, and then to actively re-warm at 0.4 °C/h to normothermia. Cooling was applied using the Arctic Sun in 27 patients. Data are presented as median and the interquartile range (25, 75%).ResultsMedian age was 58 (49.5, 70) years. Time from cooling start to target temperature was 137 (96, 168) min, cooling rate was 1.2 °C/h (0.8, 1.5), stability of target temperature during hypothermia maintenance phase was satisfactory at 33.0 °C (32.9, 33.1), and duration of re-warming was 428 (394, 452) min.ConclusionUsing the Arctic Sun System in post-resuscitation care medicine for cooling cardiac arrest survivors is feasible and has proven to be highly effective in lowering patients’ temperature rapidly without inducing skin irritations.