Effects of Targeted Temperature Management in Patients with Post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome after an Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Caused by Hanging: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study in Japan

Abstract

Background: Targeted temperature management (TTM) is recommended for unconscious patients after a cardiac arrest. However, its effectiveness in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) by hanging remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between TTM and favorable neurological outcomes in patients with PCAS by hanging.Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registry between June 2014 and December 2017 among patients with PCAS admitted to the hospitals after an OHCA caused by hanging. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the propensity score and to predict whether patients with PCAS by hanging receive TTM. We compared patients with PCAS by hanging who received TTM (TTM group) and those who did not (non-TTM group) using propensity score analysis.Results: A total of 199 patients with PCAS by hanging were enrolled in this study. Among them, 43 were assigned to the TTM group and 156 to the non-TTM group. Logistic regression model adjusted for propensity score revealed that TTM was not associated with favorable neurological outcome at 1-month (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27–6.96). Moreover, no difference was observed in the propensity score-matched cohort (adjusted OR: 0, 73, 95% CI: 0.10–4.71) and in the inverse probability of treatment weighting-matched cohort (adjusted OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.15–2.69).Conclusions: TTM was not associated with increased favorable neurological outcomes at 1-month in patients with PCAS after OHCA by hanging.