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Updated: May 6, 2026
Short-Duration Hypothermia Induction in Rats using Models for Studies examining Clinical Relevance and Mechanisms
Published on: March 3, 2021
Therapeutic hypothermia after recanalization in patients with acute ischemic stroke
Ji Man Hong1, Jin Soo Lee, Hee-Jung Song
1From the Department of Neurology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea (J.M.H., J.S.L.); Department of Neurology, Chungnam National College of Medicine, Daejon, South Korea (H.-J.S., H.-S.J.); and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (J.M.H., H.A.C., K.L.).
Background And Purpose:
Therapeutic hypothermia improves outcomes in experimental stroke models, especially after ischemia-reperfusion injury. We investigated the clinical and radiological effects of therapeutic hypothermia in acute ischemic stroke patients after recanalization.
Methods:
A prospective cohort study at 2 stroke centers was performed. We enrolled patients with acute ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation with an initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale≥10 who had successful recanalization (≥thrombolysis in cerebral ischemia, 2b). Patients at center A underwent a mild hypothermia (34.5°C) protocol, which included mechanical ventilation, and 48-hour hypothermia and 48-hour rewarming. Patients at center B were treated according to the guidelines without hypothermia. Cerebral edema, hemorrhagic transformation, good outcome (3-month modified Rankin Scale, ≤2), mortality, and safety profiles were compared. Potential variables at baseline and during the therapy were analyzed to evaluate for independent predictors of good outcome.
Results:
The hypothermia group (n=39) had less cerebral edema (P=0.001), hemorrhagic transformation (P=0.016), and better outcome (P=0.017) compared with the normothermia group (n=36). Mortality, hemicraniectomy rate, and medical complications were not statistically different. After adjustment for potential confounders, therapeutic hypothermia (odds ratio, 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-8.9; P=0.047) and distal occlusion (odds ratio, 7.3; 95% confidence interval; 1.3-40.3; P=0.022) were the independent predictors for good outcome. Absence of cerebral edema (odds ratio, 5.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-18.2; P=0.006) and no medical complications (odds ratio, 9.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.2-39.9; P=0.003) were also independent predictors for good outcome during the therapy.
Conclusions:
In patients with ischemic stroke, after successful recanalization, therapeutic hypothermia may reduce risk of cerebral edema and hemorrhagic transformation, and lead to improved clinical outcomes.
