Mild hypothermia therapy improves neurologic outcomes in patients with acute stroke

BACKGROUND: In acute stroke patients, mild and moderate hypothermia with a body temperature (T core) target of 32 °C to 34 °C has been tested with some promising results. Clinicians have been increasingly using therapeutic hypothermia to prevent or control various types of neurological injury. In this review study we evaluate the current clinical evidence regarding the use of therapeutic hypothermia. METHODS: A review of the literature was conducted usining PubMed database. RESULTS: Various cooling techniques and devices have been developed and assessed for the treatment of acute stroke patients. The efficacy of these new methods and devices has been demonstrated in many preliminary studies. CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the findings of this survey, hypothermia can cause unwanted side-effects, thus further research is needed to conduct quantified risk assessments as well as therapeutic benefits assessment of hypothermia. KEYWORDS: Acute ischemic stroke, Mild hypothermia, Neurological outcome