Prediction and risk stratification of survival in accidental hypothermia requiring extracorporeal life support: An individual patient data meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Extra-corporeal life support (ECLS) is a life-saving intervention for patients with hypothermia induced cardiac arrest or severe cardiovascular instability. However, its application is highly variable due to a paucity of data in the literature to guide practice. Current guidelines and recommendations are based on expert opinion, single case reports, and small case series. Combining all of the published data in a patient-level analysis can provide a robust assessment of the influence of patient characteristics on survival with ECLS. OBJECTIVE: To develop a prediction model of survival with good neurologic outcome for accidental hypothermia treated with ECLS. METHODS: Electronic searches of PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL were conducted with a hand search of reference lists and major surgical and critical care conference abstracts. Studies had to report the use of ECLS configured with a circuit, blood pump and oxygenator with an integrated heat exchanger. Randomized and observational studies were eligible for inclusion. Non-human, non-English and review manuscripts were deemed ineligible. Study authors were requested to submit patient level data when aggregate or incomplete individual patient data was provided in a study. Survival with good neurologic outcome was categorized for patients to last follow-up based on the reported scores on the Cerebral Performance Category (1 or 2), Glasgow Outcome Scale (4 or 5) and Pediatric Overall Performance Category (1 or 2). A one-stage, individual patient data meta-analysis was performed with a mixed-effects multi-level logistic regression model reporting odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Data from 44 observational studies and 40 case reports (n = 658) were combined and analyzed to identify independent predictors of survival with good neurologic outcome. The survival rate with good neurologic outcome of the entire cohort was 40.3% (265 of 658). ECLS rewarming rate (OR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88, 0.98; p = .007), female gender (OR: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.69, 4.58; p < 0.001), asphyxiation (OR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.35; p < 0.001) and serum potassium (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.53, 0.73; p < 0.001) were associated with survival with a good neurologic outcome. The logistic regression model demonstrated excellent discrimination (c-statistic: 0.849; 95% CI: 0.823, 0.875). CONCLUSIONS: The use of extracorporeal life support in the treatment of hypothermic cardiac arrest provides a favourable chance of survival with good neurologic outcome. When used in a weighted scoring system, asphyxiation, serum potassium and gender can help clinicians prognosticate the benefit of resuscitating hypothermic patients with ECLS.

Early Decompression following Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Examining the Process of Care from Accident Scene to Surgery.

Early decompression may improve neurological outcome after spinal cord injury (SCI), but is often difficult to achieve because of logistical issues. The aims of this study were to 1) determine the time to decompression in cases of isolated cervical SCI in Australia and New Zealand and 2) determine where substantial delays occur as patients move from the accident scene to surgery. Data were extracted from medical records of patients aged 15-70 years with C3-T1 traumatic SCI between 2010 and 2013. A total of 192 patients were included. The median time from accident scene to decompression was 21 h, with the fastest times associated with closed reduction (6 h). A significant decrease in the time to decompression occurred from 2010 (31 h) to 2013 (19 h, p = 0.008). Patients undergoing direct surgical hospital admission had a significantly lower time to decompression, compared with patients undergoing pre-surgical hospital admission (12 h vs. 26 h, p < 0.0001). Medical stabilization and radiological investigation appeared not to influence the timing of surgery. The time taken to organize the operating theater following surgical hospital admission was a further factor delaying decompression (12.5 h). There was a relationship between the timing of decompression and the proportion of patients demonstrating substantial recovery (2-3 American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale grades). In conclusion, the time of cervical spine decompression markedly improved over the study period. Neurological recovery appeared to be promoted by rapid decompression. Direct surgical hospital admission, rapid organization of theater, and where possible, use of closed reduction, are likely to be effective strategies to reduce the time to decompression.