Temperature Management in Acute Neurologic Disorders

Temperature management in acute neurologic disorders has received considerable attention in the last 2 decades. Numerous trials of hypothermia have been performed in patients with head injury, stroke, and cardiac arrest. This article reviews the physiology of thermoregulation and mechanisms responsible for hyperpyrexia. Detrimental effects of fever and benefits of normalizing elevated temperature in experimental models are discussed. This article presents a detailed analysis of trials of induced hypothermia in patients with acute neurologic insults and describes methods of fever control.