Early post-rewarming fever is associated with favorable 6-month neurologic outcomes in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A multicenter registry study

Abstract

We investigated the association between post-rewarming fever (PRF) and 6-month neurologic outcomes in cardiac arrest survivors. This was a multicenter study based on a registry of comatose adult (≥18 years) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors who underwent targeted temperature management between October 2015 to December 2018. PRF was defined as peak temperature ≥38.0◦C within 72 h after completion of rewarming, and PRF timing was categorized as within 24, 24–48, and 48–72 h epochs. The primary outcome was neurologic outcomes at six months after cardiac arrest. Unfavorable neurologic outcome was defined as cerebral performance categories three to five. A total of 1031 patients were included, and 642 (62.3%) had unfavorable neurologic outcomes. PRF developed in 389 (37.7%) patients in 72 h after rewarming: within 24 h in 150 (38.6%), in 24–48 h in 155 (39.8%), and in 48–72 h in 84 (21.6%). PRF was associated with improved neurologic outcomes (odds ratio (OR), 0.633; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.416–0.963). PRF within 24 h (OR, 0.355; 95% CI, 0.191–0.659), but not in 24–48 h or 48–72 h, was associated with unfavorable neurologic outcomes. Early PRF within 24 h after rewarming was associated with favorable neurologic outcomes.