Peter Safar, MD, Dr.h.c.
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Titles:
Distinguished Professor of Resuscitation Research, University of Pittsburgh

Contact:
Email: safarp@anes.upmc.edu

Degrees:

POST GRADUATE EDUCATION
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION		 DEGREE YEAR FIELD
University of Vienna School of Medicine MD 1943-1948 Medicine
Residency:  
Yale University Resident 1949-1950 Surgery, Oncology
Fellowship:
  
University of Pennsylvania Fellow 1950-1952 Anesthesiology
Other:
  
Research sabbatical   1969-1970 Research

Research and Professional Experience:

  • Dept of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Univ. Pittsburgh and UPMC, 1961-78
  • Founding director of international Resuscitation Research Center (IRRC), Univ. Pittsburgh, 1979-94. Renamed SCRR in 1994.
  • Co-founder Soc. Crit Care Med, journal Crit Care Med.

Major Honors/Awards:

  • Doctor honoris causa, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany (1972); University of Campinas, Brazil (1996); University of Magdeburg, Germany (1997); and Charles Univ. Prague (2003).
  • Society of Critical Care Medicine: co-founder and past president (1972). Dist Invest and Lifetime Achievement Awards.
  • German Academy of Natural Sciences Leopoldina.
  • Austrian Academy of Sciences.
  • Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
  • Cross of Honor for Science and Art first class of Austria.
  • “Peter and Eva Safar Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine” University of Pittsburgh (1989-).
  • “Peter and Eva Safar Annual Lectureship in Medical Sciences and Humanities, University of Pittsburgh.
  • White House Interagency Committee on EMS, member (1974-76).
  • American Heart Association CPR Pioneer Award (1985).

Research Grants:

Title Source of Support
Studies on uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock (in rats) (Co-P.I.); and suspended animation for delayed resuscitation (in dogs) (P.I.). A large multicenter laboratory research program by over 10 Pittsburgh investigators and outside investigative groups. Help Dr. Tisherman plan clinical trials.
 Department of Defense
2) Advisor for US Army and Navy combat casualty care research programs. US Army & Navy
3) Co-P.I. with P. Kochanek (P.I.) of NIH funded pediatric neuro-CCM fellowship training program. NIH
4) Preparing book by 2004 on “Resuscitation Medicine in the 20th Century”. Springer-Verlag

Current Research Interest:

  • Publications by Peter Safar
    Total listings over 1300; peer-reviewed original papers over 400
    A few selected publications on resuscitation and therapeutic hypothermia

Publications by Peter Safar:

Total listings over 1300; peer-reviewed original papers over 400
A few selected publications on resuscitation and therapeutic hypothermia

  • Cardiopulmonary Cerebral Resuscitation (CPCR)
    1. Safar P, Escarraga LA, Elam JO: A comparison of the mouth-to-mouth and mouth-to-airway methods of artificial respiration with the chest-pressure arm-lift methods. N Engl J Med 258:671-677 (April), 1958.
    2. Safar P, Bircher NG: Cardiopulmonary-Cerebral Resuscitation. An Introduction to Resuscitation Medicine. World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. 3rd ed, 1988. A Laerdal, Stavanger; WB Saunders, London. (1st ed, 1968; 2nd ed, 1981).
    3. Safar P: Resuscitation of the ischemic brain. In, Albin MS (ed), Textbook of Neuroanesthesia with Neurosurgical and Neuroscience Perspectives. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1997, pp 557-593. [Review]
    4. Safar P, Stezoski W, Nemoto EM: Amelioration of brain damage after 12 minutes' cardiac arrest in dogs. Arch Neurol 33/2:91-95, 1976.
    5. Brain Resuscitation Clinical Trial I Study Group. Safar P (P.I.). Randomized clinical study of thiopental loading in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med 314:397-403, 1986. [First multicenter RCT CPCR study mechanism]
    6. Brain Resuscitation Clinical Trial II Study Group (Safar P, P.I.): A randomized clinical study of a calcium-entry blocker (lidoflazine) in the treatment of comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med 324:1225-1231, 1991.
       
  • Resuscitative mild hypothermia
    1. Safar P: Resuscitation from clinical death: Pathophysiologic limits and therapeutic potentials. Crit Care Med 16:923-941, 1988.
    2. Safar P, Klain M, Tisherman S: Selective brain cooling after cardiac arrest. Crit Care Med 24:911-914, 1996. (Editorial)
    3. Safar PJ, Kochanek PM: Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest. Invited editorial comment on Sterz, et al, and Bernard, et al. N Engl J Med 346;612-613, 2002.
    4. Pomeranz S, Safar P, Radovsky A, Tisherman SA, Alexander H, Stezoski W: The effect of resuscitative moderate hypothermia following epidural brain compression on cerebral damage in a canine outcome model. J Neurosurg 79:241-251, 1993.
    5. Takasu A, Stezoski SW, Stezoski J, Safar P, Tisherman SA: Mild or moderate hypothermia, but not increased oxygen breathing, increases long term survival after uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock in rats. Crit Care Med 28:2465-2474, 2000.
    6. Prueckner S, SafarP, Kentner R, Stezoski J, Tisherman SA: Mild hypothermia increases survival from severe pressure controlled hemorrhagic shock in rats. J Trauma 50:253-262, 2001.
    7. Tisherman SA, Rodriguez A, Safar P: Therapeutic hypothermia in traumatology. Chapter in Surgery Clinics of North America 79:1269-1289, 1999.
       
  • Hypothermic suspended animation
    1. Bellamy R, Safar P, Tisherman SA, Basford R, Bruttig SP, Capone A, Dubick MA, Ernster L, Hattler BG Jr, Hochachka P, Klain M, Kochanek PM, Kofke WA, Lancaster JR, McGowan FX, Oeltgen PR, Severinghaus JW, Taylor MJ, Zar H: Suspended animation for delayed resuscitation. Crit Care Med 24/S:S24-47, 1996.
    2. Tisherman SA, Safar P, Radovsky A, Peitzman A, Marrone G, Kuboyama K, Weinrauch V: Profound hypothermia (<10°C) compared with deep hypothermia (15°C) improves neurologic outcome in dogs after two hours' circulatory arrest induced to enable resuscitative surgery. J Trauma 31:1051-1062, 1991.
    3. Capone A, Safar P, Radovsky A, Wang Y, Peitzman A, Tisherman SA: Complete recovery after normothermic hemorrhagic shock and profound hypothermic circulatory arrest of 60 minutes in dogs. J Trauma 40:388-394, 1996.
    4. Woods RJ, Prueckner S, Safar P, Radovsky A, Takasu A, Stezoski SW, Stezoski J, Tisherman SA: Hypothermic aortic arch flush for preservation during exsanguination cardiac arrest of 15 minutes in dogs. J Trauma 47:1028-1038, 1999.
    5. Behringer W, Safar P, Wu X, Kentner R, Radovsky A, Kochanek PM, Dixon CE, Tisherman SA: Survival without brain damage after clinical death of 60-120 min in dogs using suspended animation by profound hypothermia. Crit Care Med 2002, in press 2003.
    6. Behringer W, Safar P, Kentner R, Wu X, Kagan VE, Radovsky A, Clark RSB, Kochanek PM, Subramanian M, Tyurin VA, Tyurina Y, Tisherman SA: Antioxidant Tempol enhances hypothermic cerebral preservation during prolonged cardiac arrest in dogs. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 22:105-117, 2002.
    7. Nozari A, Tisherman S, Safar P, Wu X, Stezoski SW: Survival without brain damage with suspended animation after traumatic exsanguination cardiac arrest of 60 min in dogs. Anesthesiology 96 (Suppl):A418, 2002. (Abstract).

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