Brain monitoring using near-infrared spectroscopy to predict outcome after cardiac arrest: a novel phenotype in a rat model of cardiac arrest.

Improving neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest (CA) is the most important patient-oriented outcome for CA research. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) enables a non-invasive, real-time measurement of regional cerebral oxygen saturation. Here, we demonstrate a novel, non-invasive measurement using NIRS, termed modified cerebral oximetry index (mCOx), to distinguish the severity of brain injury after CA. We aimed to test the feasibility of this method to predict neurological outcome after asphyxial CA in rats. Our results suggest that mCOx is feasible shortly after resuscitation and can provide a surrogate measure for the severity of brain injury in a rat asphyxia CA model.