# Quantitative electroencephalography after cardiac arrest

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $189,784

## Abstract

Title: Quantitative electroencephalography after cardiac arrest
Abstract
Brain injury is the most dreaded result of critical illness. For more than half a million Americans who suffer
sudden cardiac arrest each year, current therapies are inadequate and outcomes are abysmal. Among more
than 100,000 patients who regain pulses, severe global brain injury is common and the major driver of both
morbidity and mortality. This is a major public health problem.
My proposal addresses two important, potentially preventable causes of death and disability due to post-arrest
brain injury. The first of these problems is secondary brain injury from ongoing tissue hypoxia and
hypoperfusion in the days after resuscitation. Outcomes are further worsened by inaccurate neurological
prognostication, which directly increases mortality through premature withdrawal of care in patients who
might otherwise have had favorable recoveries. Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) is a tool that
measures individual components or overall characteristics of electrical brain activity, and may help overcome
both of these problems. In our first aim, we will use innovative statistical methods to determine whether
qEEG can noninvasively detect brain tissue hypoxia and hypoperfusion. We already use invasive monitoring
to measure brain oxygen and perfusion, providing an unprecedented opportunity to test contemporaneously
acquired qEEG against accepted clinical reference standards. Identification of qEEG markers of secondary
brain injury would allow early and non-invasive patient care based on individualized need and real-time
response to therapy. In the second aim, we will define the ability of qEEG signatures to predict subsequent
neurological deterioration and death, and test its value as one element of a multistep prognostic algorithm.
Currently, accurate prognostication is optimal only days after arrest. This is burdensome for families, resource
intensive and often leads to premature withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy in patients who would otherwise
have awakened and been able to live independently had they been given more time to recover.
This career development award will directly contribute to my long-term research goals to develop, test, and
implement innovative treatment strategies that reduce the burden of preventable brain injury in the critically ill. The
award will provide me with the cross-disciplinary mentored experience and training necessary to achieve these goals
and become a productive independent investigator.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197229
- **Project number:** 5K23NS097629-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Jonathan Elmer
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $189,784
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197229

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197229, Quantitative electroencephalography after cardiac arrest (5K23NS097629-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197229. Licensed CC0.

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