Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/34195
When a patient suffers a sudden drop in blood pressure caused by an abnormal- ity in his or her heart’s rhythm, the brain loses its blood supply until the heartbeat is stabilized. The reintroduction of blood to the brain can create a series of chemical reactions that can ultimately lead to cell death. Mildly induced hypothermia and gradual rewarming, however, work to counteract those natural reactions. Changing the Outcome In the European study, 55% of patients treated with therapeutic hypo- thermia exper ienced improved neurological function six months after an incident of cardiac arrest, while only 39% of patients without the treatment showed similar outcomes. The study defi ned “improved function” as patients’ capacity for independent living and per forming par t-t ime jobs. The Australian study showed 49% of hypo- thermia patients demonstrated positive improvement when discharged home or to a rehabilitation facility as opposed to 26% of nonhypothermia patients. “The ED began using therapeutic hypothermia in October 2010 and has treated 13 patients thus far, including a few transfers f rom St . Anthony Community Hospital,” says Brian Blaufeux, M.D., FACEP, Medical Director of the ED at Good Samaritan Hospital. “Treatment is initiated in the ED if, based on information we receive from the emergency medical services, the patient qualifies for the therapy. Treatment is continued in the critical care unit.” A break from foundational studies’ methods, the ED at Good Samaritan Hospital employs intravascular cooling catheters — rather than blankets, ice packs and a specialty mattress — to lower a patient’s body temperature. As the patient rests on a bed and is given a light sedative to prevent shivering, an IV inserted in the groin begins to circulate small balloons fi lled with chilled saline. The body’s temperature slowly decreases to 91° Fahrenheit over the course of a 24-hour treatment and then is slowly brought back to the normal 98°. MDNEWS.COM MD NEWS Mid Hudson | 7 Good Samaritan Hospital fi rst announced its plans for the emergency department (ED) expansion and renovation in March 2011. Bon Secours Charity Health System, of which Good Samaritan Hospital is a part, will break ground on the project this summer. With six months allotted for the construction of the ED’s new section and six months to renovate the existing department, the ED is expected to be operating in a much roomier space within the next year and a half. Stephen Ross, R.N., inserts a coil into the hypothermia machine’s coolant well. This is how the machine chills the saline that will run through the tubing into the balloons on the catheter.