As a responsible professional, you already stay abreast of the EMS literature as a matter of course. You appreciate the rapid advancements in medicine and have committed yourself to remaining current through continuing medical education. The EMS Journal Club is an effective, convenient way to continue your passion for lifelong professional learning. Our monthly interactive educational forums discuss the latest hot topics and research-based best practices in the EMS and emergency medicine professional journals. Our aim is to assist EMS professionals stay abreast of the rapidly evolving changes in prehospital and emergency medicine, demystify clinical research, and help translate research to the clinical practice of prehospital care. We hope that you find this site useful to your practice. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments with us.

Approximately 325,000 Americans are treated each year for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. After resuscitation, brain injury is a major source of mortality and morbidity. Most patients who are resuscitated never awaken, and in one study, severe neurological damage was observed in approximately 64% of survivors. After resuscitation, several mechanisms are responsible for brain injury. Several studies have suggested that hypothermia may offer a protective effect with the potential to improve neurologic recovery. In 2005, the American Heart Association recommended that cardiac arrest patients be cooled to 32-34 degrees Celsius. In this episode, we will review several papers on therapeutic hypothermia, as well as discuss how this cooling protocol has been implemented in Wake County EMS in North Carolina.

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