Assessment of Hypoxic Brain Injury by Analyzing Propofol-induced EEG Changes

PROPEA3 is a prospective observational study investigating the recovery of propofol-induced EEG slow-wave activity and its association with neurological outcome after cardiac arrest. Comatose adult patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) after cardiac arrest are included. Patients with previous neurological disease expected to affect substantially EEG are excluded. The patients' relatives are asked for an informed written consent to participate. In the intensive care, the patients are sedated using continuous infusion of propofol while receiving temperature management/hypothermia treatment following the ICUs' common practice. EEG is recorded continuously from the admission to the ICU until 48 hours from the cardiac arrest. EEG slow-wave activity is determined offline by calculating the low-frequency (<1 Hz) power from the signal. The neurological recovery of the patients is defined 6 months after cardiac arrest from patient documents and/or by phone call to the patient/relative using Cerebral Performance Category. After the follow-up period patient or the relative is also asked to fill a survey (SF-36) to estimate the health and quality of life.