Clinical study of mild hypothermia treatment for severe traumatic brain injury.

Clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) suggest that mild hypothermia may improve the outcome of severe traumatic brain injured patients with intracranial hypertension when cooling is maintained for longer than 48 h. However, the results are not yet conclusive, and more RCTs are required. Mild hypothermia significantly decreases intracranial pressure (ICP) values when refractory intracranial hypertension cannot be controlled by conventional measures in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Prolonged mild-to-moderate hypothermia may be associated with high incidence of pneumonia and hypokalemia, which should be prevented.