Therapeutic hypothermia: the Safar vision.

At the 2(nd) International Brain Hypothermia conference, in Miami, the late Dr. Peter Safar was honored for his many contributions to the field of therapeutic hypothermia. Therapeutic hypothermia played a central role in his overall vision for optimized resuscitation and neurointensive care, across a large number of potential insults. The successful use of therapeutic hypothermia in comatose patients after cardiac arrest, for example, was already included in the historic first "ABCs" of resuscitation, published by Safar in 1964. This review addresses key historical events in the development and implementation of therapeutic hypothermia across a number of central nervous system insults. A discussion of future potential uses of this therapy in a variety of applications as part of the Safar vision is also presented.