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Mercy nurse Angie Kelly, BSN, RN, with the Arctic Sun device

Mercy's ICU Adopts Arctic Sun Machine To Improve Patient Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest

When a young man in his 30s, "complete code," in a coma and unresponsive, was brought into Mercy's Emergency Department, ED staff was able to get a heartbeat and blood pressure and transferred him to Critical Care. His prognosis was poor, but Mercy had recently acquired the Arctic Sun Temperature Management System, a medical device used to induce therapeutic hypothermia, lowering the patient's body temperature between 32-34 degrees Celsius (90-93 degrees Fahrenheit). Medical literature indicates that lowering core body temperature to this degree may help reduce the risk of the ischemic injury to the brain following a period of insufficient blood flow as may occur during cardiac arrest, stroke or brain trauma.

According to Mercy ICU staff nurse Angie Kelly, BSN, RN, cooling therapy was begun on the patient using the Arctic Sun device.

"I had to monitor for shifts in electrolytes, arrhythmias, seizures, hemodynamic changes and bleeding. I needed to monitor the temperature of the patient and the water running through the system for subtle changes that could have indicated the patient was become febrile. I had to obtain blood cultures since signs of infection, such as temperature, can be hidden by artificially cooling the patient. I watched for facial, neck, and chest twitching, increased respirations and artifact on the EKG as a result of seizures or shivering. I also had to monitor for skin breakdown and prevent it from happening because hypothermia can cause burns as well as additional risks for breakdown," Kelly explained.

After 24 hours of treatment, rewarming of the patient began over an 8 hour period. After a few days, the patient emerged from his coma and days later was discharged from Mercy without any neurological impairment.

"Inducing hypothermia saved his life. It was remarkable process to watch with my own eyes," Kelly said. "It is exciting to incorporate this therapy as a standard of care for patients in a coma after suffering a cardiac arrest. We were able to see how vital cutting edge treatments can be for patients and their families," she added.