• Erik Westhall, Andrea O Rossetti, Anne-Fleur van Rootselaar, Troels Wesenberg Kjaer, Janneke Horn, Susann Ullén, Hans Friberg, Niklas Nielsen, Ingmar Rosén, Anders Åneman, David Erlinge, Yvan Gasche, Christian Hassager, Jan Hovdenes, Jesper Kjaergaard, Michael Kuiper, Tommaso Pellis, Pascal Stammet, Michael Wanscher, Jørn Wetterslev, Matt P Wise, Tobias Cronberg, and TTM-trial investigators.
• Authors' affiliations are listed at the end of the article. erik.westhall@med.lu.se.
• Neurology. 2016 Apr 19; 86 (16): 1482-90.

ObjectiveTo identify reliable predictors of outcome in comatose patients after cardiac arrest using a single routine EEG and standardized interpretation according to the terminology proposed by the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society.MethodsIn this cohort study, 4 EEG specialists, blinded to outcome, evaluated prospectively recorded EEGs in the Target Temperature Management trial (TTM trial) that randomized patients to 33°C vs 36°C. Routine EEG was performed in patients still comatose after rewarming. EEGs were classified into highly malignant (suppression, suppression with periodic discharges, burst-suppression), malignant (periodic or rhythmic patterns, pathological or nonreactive background), and benign EEG (absence of malignant features). Poor outcome was defined as best Cerebral Performance Category score 3-5 until 180 days.ResultsEight TTM sites randomized 202 patients. EEGs were recorded in 103 patients at a median 77 hours after cardiac arrest; 37% had a highly malignant EEG and all had a poor outcome (specificity 100%, sensitivity 50%). Any malignant EEG feature had a low specificity to predict poor prognosis (48%) but if 2 malignant EEG features were present specificity increased to 96% (p < 0.001). Specificity and sensitivity were not significantly affected by targeted temperature or sedation. A benign EEG was found in 1% of the patients with a poor outcome.ConclusionsHighly malignant EEG after rewarming reliably predicted poor outcome in half of patients without false predictions. An isolated finding of a single malignant feature did not predict poor outcome whereas a benign EEG was highly predictive of a good outcome.© 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

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