Improving predictions of brain recovery after cardiac arrest
Official title: Addressing an Inherent Bias in Neuroprognostication: A Collaboration Between the US and Brazil to Reduce the Impact of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Cardiac ARrEst (SPARE)
Funded at Boston Medical Center · NIH-11238502 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to help doctors make more accurate predictions about brain recovery for people who survive a cardiac arrest by comparing outcomes in the U.S. and Brazil.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | January 22, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $478,045 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS128342-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11238502 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults who have been resuscitated after a cardiac arrest and are receiving critical care at participating hospitals in the United States or Brazil.
✕Less likely to help
People with non-hypoxic brain injuries, children, or individuals not treated at participating centers are unlikely to be directly included or to benefit immediately from this project.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one survive a cardiac arrest, doctors use exams, brain scans, blood tests, and electrical recordings to predict recovery, but early decisions to stop life support can bias those predictions. This project follows patients treated in hospitals in the U.S. and Brazil, where cultural differences mean life support is often continued longer, allowing researchers to see true recovery patterns. By comparing similar patients across these settings and linking clinical tests to longer-term outcomes, the team will look for which tests reliably indicate poor recovery versus those affected by early withdrawal of care. The goal is to find clearer signs that help families and clinicians make better, less rushed decisions about continuing life-sustaining treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce premature withdrawal of life support and help identify patients who have a real chance of meaningful brain recovery.
How similar studies have gone: Existing prognostic tools have shown value but are limited by early withdrawal-of-care bias, and comparing outcomes across countries with different practices is a novel way to find less biased predictors.
Where this research is happening
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Boston Medical Center
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Greer, David Matthew — Boston Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Greer, David Matthew
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Multi-center study on how ventilation during CPR relates to cardiac arrest outcomes
A large, real-world study will look at how ventilation during CPR affects survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in adults.
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Specialized post-arrest care after cardiac arrest
A large, nationwide effort tests whether transferring cardiac arrest patients to a specialized post-arrest care center improves recovery compared with usual care.
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Reduce bias in predicting brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project aims to make brain-recovery predictions more accurate for people who survive cardiac arrest by comparing outcomes between the United States and Brazil.
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Fairer brain recovery predictions after cardiac arrest through U.S.–Brazil collaboration
This project aims to find better ways to predict brain recovery for people who survive cardiac arrest but have possible brain injury.
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Improving predictions of brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project compares outcomes after cardiac arrest in the U.S. and Brazil to learn which tests best predict who will regain brain function for people who survive cardiac arrest.
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Reducing biased predictions of brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project looks at cardiac arrest survivors in the US and Brazil to find more accurate ways to predict brain recovery and avoid premature stopping of life support.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.