Early Transcranial Doppler Goal Directed Therapy After Cardiac Arrest: a Pilot Study

Hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury (HIBI) is the main cause of death in patients who are comatose after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Current guidelines recommend to target a mean arterial pressure (MAP) above 65 mmHg to achieve an adequate organ perfusion. Moreover, after cardiac arrest, cerebral autoregulation is dysregulated and cerebral blood flow (CBF) depends on the MAP. A higher blood pressure target could improve cerebral perfusion and HIBI. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a non-invasive method to study CBF and its variations induced by MAP. The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of an early-goal directed hemodynamic management with TCD during the first 12 hours after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).