Table 1 Summary of therapeutic hypothermia; indications, performance, type of evidence and proposed protocols

Cardiac arrest (VT or VF)

Effective

2 small RCTs and multiple cohort studies

Temperature target 32-34°C for 12–24 h [2,3,30,31]

Neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)

Effective

RCTs

Moderate or severe HIE, should be treated within 6 h of delivery to 32–34°C for 72 h, at slow rewarming rate [34,35]

Increased ICP

Effective

RCTs and cohort studies

32–36°C (tailored according ICP level) [17,64,65,68]

Cardiac arrest (PEA or asystole)

Possible

Case series

Target temperature 32–34°C for 12–24 h [9,10,12,69]

Hypoxic encephalopathy in hanging injury cases

Feasible

Case series

Target temperature 32–34°C > 48 h [70,71]

Ischemic Stroke

Feasible

Small RCTs, ongoing trials

35°C for awake patients, 32–35°C for ventilated comatose patients [36-39]

Intracerebral hemorrhage

Unknown

Case series

Fever control [48]

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Unknown

Case series

Fever Control [52]

Traumatic brain injury

Unknown

RCTs with conflicting research findings, ongoing trials

Target temperature 32–34°C for > 48 h [59-63]