Don't Throw Away your Cooling Devices!

When performing a kidney transplantation nowadays up to 50% of recipients developed a delayed graft function which is defined as the need of dialysis within seven days. The authors of this recently published NEJM-article asked themselves whether mild hypothermia might influence outcome in this regard. 

In order to answer this question the investigators assigned organ donors after declaration of death according to neurologic criteria into two groups. They were either treated with mild hypothermia (34 to 35°C) or with normothermia (36.5 to 37.5°C). The target temperature was maintained until the patients were transferred to theatre for transplantation. 

Primary outcome of this trial was delayed graft function among recipients. Secondary outcomes  included the rates of individual organs transplanted into each treatment group at the total number of organs transplanted from each donor. 

This trial had to be stopped early as an interim analysis showed significant efficacy of mild hypothermia. Up to this point a total of 572 patients received a kidney transplant (285 in the hypothermia group and 287 in the normothermia group). 28% of recipients in the hypothemia group developed delayed graft function compared to 39% in the normothermia group.

The authors therefore conclude that mild hypothermia significantly reduces the rate of delayed graft functions among recipients. 

• This study suggests that potential organ donors after declaration of death according to neurologic criteria should be treated with mild hypothermia. 

• Intensive care units that continue to treat patients with mild hypothermia after cardiac arrest might have two rewarm their patients for the diagnosis of neurological death before re-cooling them for organ transplantation
  

Anyhow, it seems reasonable not to get rid of your cooling devices!

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Read more about the controversies of hypothermia in the ICU:


The Targeted Temperature Management Trial: Nielsen N, et al. New Engl J Med. 2013 Dec;369(23):2197-206

The 2 trials that introduced therapeutic hypothermia into ICU practice:
The Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Study Group, Holzer at al. New Engl J Med. 2002 Feb;346(8):549-556

Bernard S.A. et al. New Engl J Med. 2002 Feb;346(8):557-563

Review article on therapeutic hypothermia for non-VF/VT cardiac arrest:
Sandroni S. et al. Crit Care Med; 2013;17:215

Pyrexia and neurological outcome:
Leary M. et al. Resuscitation. 2013 Aug;84(8):1056-61

BIJC post on: The Effect of Pre-Hospital Cooling: Rather Worrying Results

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