Early recovery of frontal EEG slow wave activity during propofol sedation predicts outcome after cardiac arrest

Abstract

<div lang="en" class="abs"><p class="abs_header">Abstract</p><p><em>Aim of the study:</em> EEG slow wave activity (SWA) has shown prognostic potential in post-resuscitation care. In this prospective study, we investigated the accuracy of continuously measured early SWA for prediction of the outcome in comatose cardiac arrest (CA) survivors.</p><p><em>Methods:</em> We recorded EEG with a disposable self-adhesive frontal electrode and wireless device continuously starting from ICU admission until 48 h from return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in comatose CA survivors sedated with propofol. We determined SWA by offline calculation of C-Trend® Index describing SWA as a score ranging from 0 to 100. The functional outcome was defined based on Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) at 6 months after the CA to either good (CPC 1–2) or poor (CPC 3–5).</p><p><em>Results:</em> Outcome at six months was good in 67 of the 93 patients. During the first 12 h after ROSC, the median C-Trend Index value was 38.8 (interquartile range 28.0–56.1) in patients with good outcome and 6.49 (3.01–18.2) in those with poor outcome showing significant difference (<em>p</em> < 0.001) at every hour between the groups. The index values of the first 12 h predicted poor outcome with an area under curve of 0.86 (95% CI 0.61−0.99). With a cutoff value of 20, the sensitivity was 83.3% (69.6%–92.3%) and specificity 94.7% (83.4%–99.7%) for categorization of outcome.</p><p><em>Conclusion:</em> EEG SWA measured with C-Trend Index during propofol sedation offers a promising practical approach for early bedside evaluation of recovery of brain function and prediction of outcome after CA.</p></div>