• Juan C Garcia-Rubira, Blanca Olivares-Martínez, Maria Rivadeneira-Ruiz, Inmaculada Fernández-Valenzuela, Alejandro Recio-Mayoral, Manuel Almendro-Delia, and Rafael Hidalgo-Urbano.
• Coronary Unit. Electronic address: Grubira1@gmail.com.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2023 Sep 1; 71: 141714-17.

IntroductionThe recommended target temperature in the treatment of comatous patients after cardiac arrest has recently changed. We analyzed the impact on the neurological outcome of a change in the target temperature from July 2021.Material And MethodsThis was a retrospective analysis comparing the discharge status of 78 patients with a target temperature of 33 °C (group 1) with that of 24 patients with a target temperature of 36.5 °C (group 2). Pearson chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used.ResultsThe initial rhythm was defibrillable in 65% of group 1 and 71% of group 2, and cardiac arrest was witnessed in 93% of group 1 and 96% of group 2. There was an adverse outcome (death or vegetative state) in 37 patients in group 1 (47%) compared to 18 in group 2 (74%) (Pearson chi-square 5.612, p = 0.018).ConclusionsIn our series of patients, the temperature control target temperature change from 33 °C to 36.5 °C was associated with worse neurological outcome. Further studies are needed to evaluate the outcome of a generalized modification of temperature control targets in comatose patients after cardiac arrest in our postpandemic era.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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