Annals of neurology
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Annals of neurology · Feb 2012
Multicenter StudyPrognosis of coma after therapeutic hypothermia: a prospective cohort study.
This study was designed to establish the reliability of neurologic examination, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and median nerve somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) to predict poor outcome in patients treated with mild hypothermia after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). ⋯ In patients with persisting coma after CPR and therapeutic hypothermia, use of motor score or NSE, as recommended in current guidelines, could possibly lead to inappropriate withdrawal of treatment. Poor outcomes can reliably be predicted by testing brainstem reflexes 72 hours after CPR and performing SEP.