Normothermia for NeuroProtection: it's hot to be cool

Fever is a significant contributor to secondary brain insult and management is a challenge for the neurocritical care team. The absence of standardized guidelines likely contributes to poor surveillance and undertreatment of increased temperature. A need for practice change was identified and this evidence-based practice project was initiated to compile sufficient evidence to develop, implement, and evaluate a treatment guideline to manage fever and maintain normothermia in the neurocritical care population. Ongoing education, inclusion in staff annual competency, and staff update on compliance performance is essential to maintain and sustain the practice change achieved through this project.