Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34386780›Full record

ArticleResuscitation plus2021

Awakening from post anoxic coma with burst suppression with identical bursts.

Patrick J Coppler, Amanda E Kusztos, Mark Andreae, Brad W Butcher, Ankur Doshi, Maria E Baldwin, Niravkumar Barot, James F Castellano, Joanna S Fong-Isariyawongse, Alexandra Urban and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Resuscitation plus, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Role of Neurophysiologic Testing in Prognostication of Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.Journal of clinical neurophysiology : official publication of the American Electroencephalographic Society · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Patrick J CopplerDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Amanda E KusztosUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Mark AndreaeDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Brad W ButcherDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Ankur DoshiDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Maria E BaldwinDepartment of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Niravkumar BarotDepartment of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
James F CastellanoDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Joanna S Fong-IsariyawongseDepartment of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Alexandra UrbanDepartment of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Clifton W CallawayDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Alexis SteinbergDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Jonathan ElmerDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
University of Pittsburgh Post-Cardiac Arrest Service
University of Pittsburgh · US

Funding

Quantitative electroencephalography after cardiac arrestK23NS097629 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI ELMER, JONATHAN · 2017 to 2021
$945k
NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS097629
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundElectroencephalography (EEG) is commonly used after cardiac arrest. Burst suppression with identical bursts (BSIB) has been reported as a perfectly specific predictor of poor outcome but published case series are small. We describe two patients with BSIB who awakened from coma after cardiac arrest.

methodsWe identified two out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with coma and BSIB. We determined the etiology of arrest, presenting neurological examination, potential confounders to neurological assessment, neurodiagnostics and time to awakening. We reviewed and interpreted EEGs using 2021 American Clinical Neurophysiology Society guidelines. We quantified identicality of bursts by calculating pairwise correlation coefficients between the first 500 ms of each aligned burst.

resultsIn case one we present a 62-year-old man with OHCA secondary to septic shock. EEG showed burst suppression pattern, with bursts consisted of high amplitude generalized spike waves in lock-step with myoclonus (inter-burst correlation = 0.86). He followed commands 3 days after arrest, when repeat EEG showed a continuous, variable and reactive background without epileptiform activity. Case two was a 49-year-old woman with OHCA secondary to polysubstance overdose. Initial EEG revealed burst suppression with high amplitude generalized polyspike-wave bursts with associated myoclonus. She followed commands on post-arrest day 4, when repeat EEG showed a continuous, variable and reactive background with frequent runs of bifrontal predominant sharply contoured rhythmic delta activity.

conclusionThese cases highlight the perils of prognosticating with a single modality in comatose cardiac arrest patients.

Indexed as

Anoxic brain injuryAnoxic comaBurst suppressionCardiac arrestElectroencephalographyOutcomePrognostication

Identifiers

PMID34386780
PMCPMC8342773
OpenAlexW3189442544

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.