Neuron-Specific Enolase And Neuroimaging For Prognostication After Cardiac Arrest Treated With Targeted Temperature Management

BackgroundPrognostication after cardiac arrest (CA) needs a multimodal approach, but the optimal method is not known. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and neuroimaging could improve outcome prediction after CA treated with targeted temperature management (TTM).MethodsA retrospective observational cohort study was performed on patients who underwent at least one NSE measurement between 48 and 72 hr; received both a brain computed tomography (CT) scan within 24 hr and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) within 7 days after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC); and were treated with TTM after out-of-hospital CA between 2009 and 2017 at the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in Korea. The primary outcome was a poor neurological outcome at 6 months after CA, defined as a cerebral performance category of 3-5.ResultsA total of 109 subjects underwent all three tests and were ultimately included in this study. Thirty-four subjects (31.2%) experienced good neurological outcomes at 6 months after CA. The gray matter to white matter attenuation ratio (GWR) was weakly correlated with the mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), PV400 and NSE (Spearman's rho: 0.359, -0.362 and -0.263, respectively). NSE was strongly correlated with the mean ADC and PV400 (Spearman's rho: -0.623 and 0.666, respectively). Serum NSE had the highest predictive value among the single parameters (area under the curve (AUC) 0.912, sensitivity 70.7% for maintaining 100% specificity). The combination of a DWI parameter (mean ADC or PV400) and NSE had better prognostic performance than the combination of the CT parameter (GWR) and NSE. The addition of the GWR to a DWI parameter and NSE did not improve the prediction of neurological outcomes.ConclusionThe GWR (<= 24 hr) is weakly correlated with the mean ADC (<= 7 days) and NSE (highest between 48 and 72 hr). The combination of a DWI parameter and NSE has better prognostic performance than the combination of the GWR and NSE. The addition of the GWR to a DWI parameter and NSE does not improve the prediction of neurological outcomes after CA treatment with TTM.