Out cold: Some cardiac arrest patients revived after cooling procedure

Does the story adequately discuss the costs of the intervention?

Not Satisfactory

The story does not include any information about the expense of this treatment; it also does not indicate whether hospitals need to purchase special equipment in order to provide this treatment.

Does the story adequately quantify the benefits of the treatment/test/product/procedure?

Not Satisfactory

The story estimates that this treatment could save "tens of thousands" of lives, though this estimate is several orders of magnitude greater than the data in the article supports.

It contains a quote from a physician who stated that they "believe the people who do go home have fewer neurological problems," but no evidence is given for this. 

Does the story adequately explain/quantify the harms of the intervention?

Not Satisfactory

There was no discussion of harms associated with this treatment or the frequency with which these are typically observed.

The person used as an example of the benefits of the treatment developed pneumonia in the course of his recovery from his cardiac arrest and his hypothemia treatment, which may be a side-effect of the treatment.

Does the story seem to grasp the quality of the evidence?

Not Satisfactory

Although there is a physician interviewed who provided some estimates of outcomes from the hospital in which he practices, the story did not provide information about the source(s) of the evidence supporting the clinical assertions made in the story.

Does the story commit disease-mongering?

Not Satisfactory

The numbers in this story don't square up as describe.  The story estimates that the number of people who are killed by acute cardiac arrest in this country is 250,000 per year. But the most recent estimate from the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/) is that this is the cause of death for 171,00 people per year.

The story engages in treatment mongering by claiming that this treatment could save "tens of thousands" of lives each year.  However, using the data in the story, (250,000 cases of cardiac arrest; out of 100 cardiac arrests, 7-8 that undergo hypothermia walk out of the hospital as compared to one or two fewer in those who don't undergo hypothermia) hypothermia has the potential for an additional 500 people to walk out of the hospital.  This is 500 more happy outcomes but not "tens of thousands".

Does the story use independent sources and identify conflicts of interest?

Not Satisfactory

While quotes from several physicans were included in this story as well as quotes from a patient who had had the treatment, the sources of the background information about the treatment and the studies about its benefit were not mentioned. So readers get the perspectives of "believers" minus any hard evidence. 

Does the story compare the new approach with existing alternatives?

Not Satisfactory

The sequence of when this treatment would be used – and the decisions about how and when it would be used – are unclear.  So, too, then is any discussion about what the options are. 

Does the story establish the true novelty of the approach?

Not Satisfactory

It is not clear from this story whether this is a new treatment or just a newly introduced treatment at this particular hospital.

The story stated "The American Heart Association has approved the procedure in the wake of extensive overseas clinical trials", however at the American Heart Association web site, there is mention of this treatment from a media advisory of February 20, 2002 – more than five years ago.

And the American Heart Association doesn't technically "approve" any procedures – making this a simplistic, naive and inaccurate statement in the story.