NURS 360: Does the administration of CODE ICE to a cardiac arrest patient result in regained brain function when discontinued?

The increase in heart disease in this country has created the need for more treatment options for out-of hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA). Therapeutic hypothermia, also referred to as code ice, involves the cooling of a patient’s body temperature to around thirty-two degrees Celsius, and it has become a standard of care for patients who are resuscitated after a OOHCA. When these patients experience cardiac arrest outside of the hospital there is a risk for decreased brain function. This decrease in brain function can lead to patient being declared brain dead and placed on a ventilator. However, some research indicates that therapeutic hypothermia has resulted in a higher likelihood of survival and hospital discharge.