Implementation of therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest--a telephone survey of Connecticut hospitals
Kremens, K.; Seevaratnam, A.; Fine, J.; Wakefield, D.B.; Berman, L.
Connecticut Medicine 75(4): 203-206
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 0010-6178 PMID: 21560725 Document Number: 652249
We hypothesize that despite excellent evidence supporting use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) after cardiac arrest, only some of Connecticut hospitals utilize this technique for cardiac arrest patients. Telephone survey of all adult acute care Connecticut hospitals between January and April 2010. Among 31 adult acute care hospitals, 27 care for cardiac arrest patients. Seventeen out of 27 hospitals use TH (63%) for cardiac arrest patients. No significant association was found between use of TH and hospital size (P=0.14), ICU type (P=0.07) or BC/BE critical-care physician staffing (P= 0.22). Lack of resources and cost of TH were commonly mentioned as barriers. Therapeutic hypothermia is underutilized in Connecticut with almost half of all hospitals currently not employing TH. Given the slow adoption rate of TH, state-level leadership may be indicated to accelerate implementation of this life-saving technique.