Efficacy and Risks of Therapeutic Hypothermia after Pediatric Cardiac Arrest: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Therapeutic hypothermia is used in adults and neonates after cardiac arrest, but its efficiency in children under 18 years old is still uncertain. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and risks of therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest in children under 18 years of age through a systematic review. Methods: A systematic review was performed in January 2022 in the MEDLINE, SciELO, Cochrane, and LILACS databases. Inclusion criteria: randomized controlled trials (RCTs) performed in humans. Articles from other typologies, published more than 10 years ago, or with volunteers over 18 years old were excluded. Results: Four studies were identified, of which 3 were analyzed; all of them were of moderate quality according to the Jadad Scale and the Cochrane Collaboration tool. The studies indicated that lowering the temperature did not improve data on mortality and adverse events. Two studies did not identify statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) considering hypothermia in relation to normothermia in terms of survival, safety, and global neurobehavioral and cognitive function. The other study did not show improved serum biomarker concentrations. Conclusions: The results found in this review do not support the use of therapeutic hypothermia after pediatric cardiac arrest, as this intervention did not provide any apparent benefits in terms of safety, adverse events, survival, and neurological impact. We recommend the conduction of new RCTs using the measurement of serum biomarkers to better evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.