Chest ACCP Member Benefits
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password
doi:10.1378/chest.07-2190
(Chest. 2008; 133:1267-1274)
© 2008 American College of Chest Physicians
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Article Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Varon, J.
Right arrow Articles by Acosta, P.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Varon, J.
Right arrow Articles by Acosta, P.

Therapeutic Hypothermia*

Past, Present, and Future

Joseph Varon, MD, FCCP and Pilar Acosta, MD

* From the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Dr. Varon); and Dorrington Medical Associates (Dr. Acosta), Houston, TX.

Correspondence to: Joseph Varon, MD, FCCP, 2219 Dorrington St, Houston, TX 77030-3209; e-mail: Joseph.Varon{at}uth.tmc.edu

Abstract

Cardiac arrest causes devastating neurologic morbidity and mortality. The preservation of the brain function is the final goal of resuscitation. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has been considered as an effective method for reducing ischemic injury of the brain. The therapeutic use of hypothermia has been utilized for millennia, and over the last 50 years has been routinely employed in the operating room. TH gained recognition in the past 6 years as a neuroprotective agent in victims of cardiac arrest after two large, randomized, prospective clinical trials demonstrated its benefits in the postresuscitation setting. Extensive research has been done at the cellular and molecular levels and in animal models. There are a number of proposed applications of TH, including traumatic brain injury, acute encephalitis, stroke, neonatal hypoxemia, and near-drowning, among others. Several devices are being designed with the purpose of decreasing temperature at a fast and steady rate, and trying to avoid potential complications. This article reviews the historical development of TH, and its current indications, methods of induction, and potential future.

Key Words: cardiac arrest • cardiopulmonary resuscitation • cooling techniques • induced hypothermia • neuroprotection • temperature monitoring • stroke • therapeutic hypothermia






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the American College of Chest Physicians.