Rationale: We hypothesize that despite excellent evidence supporting use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) after cardiac arrest, only some of Connecticut hospitals utilize this technique for cardiac arrest patients.
Methods: Telephone survey of all adult acute care Connecticut hospitals between January and April 2010.
Results: Among 31 adult acute care hospitals, 27 care for cardiac arrest patients. Seventeen out of 27 hospitals use TH (63%) for cardiac arrest patients. No significant association was found between use of TH and hospital size (P=0.14), ICU type (P=0.07) or BC/BE critical-care physician staffing (P= 0.22). Lack of resources and cost of TH were commonly mentioned as barriers.
Conclusions: Therapeutic hypothermia is underutilized in Connecticut with almost half of all hospitals currently not employing TH. Given the slow adoption rate of TH, state-level leadership may be indicated to accelerate implementation of this life-saving technique.