The evolution of hypothermia for neuroprotection after cardiac arrest: a history in the making

While much has been observed regarding hypothermia by way of environmental exposure, it is modern day medicine that deployed hypothermia as a therapeutic. From the early 1930s, when Temple Fay deployed "refrigeration" to treat pain, to the work of Wilfred Bigelow and Charles Drew, who utilized hypothermia in open heart surgery-the opportunities seemed endless. However, questions arose surrounding appropriate temperatures to achieve best outcomes and how to minimize adverse events, such as coagulopathy and infection. In the 1980s, hypothermia underwent a resurgence through Peter Safar's critical studies in large animals, which quickly translated into feasibility studies and the landmark trials of 2002 that paved the way for postcardiac arrest care as we currently know it. Through clinical and observational trials, modern-day targeted temperature management continues to adapt, striving to improve patient outcomes. While hypothermia has come a long way from the writings of Hippocrates, the ideal therapy has not yet been defined, and more work is needed. While the history is long, there is more to be written and advances to be achieved as we optimize the neuroprotective effects of hypothermia for comatose survivors of cardiac arrest.