Clinical analysis of massive hemispheric infarction treated with moderate hypothermia.

The potential of hypothermia in reducing neuronal damage has been demonstrated in several animal models of focal cerebral ischemia. The feasibility and safety of this technique for acute stroke has been only examined in one study, describing a total of 25 patients. We analyzed the data from 50 consecutive patients with acute stroke treated with moderate hypothermia in neurocritical care units of 4 university clinics to evaluate the feasibility and safety of moderate hypothermia.