Evidence-Based Approaches to Temperature Management in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury
Keywords:
Evidence-based practice, Temperature Management, Traumatic brain injuryAbstract
Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a critical condition associated with a high risk of secondary brain injury, particularly due to fever. This evidence synthesis aimed to summarize current evidence on temperature management in patients with severe TBI. Studies published between 2016 and 2025 were searched in ThaiJo, Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library using the PICO framework. Articles were selected according to the PRISMA guidelines. A total of 198 studies were identified, and six studies met the inclusion criteria.
The findings showed that temperature management strategies include physical cooling, targeted
temperature management (TTM), and therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Cooling devices and selective brain cooling applied to the head and neck were more effective than conventional methods in reducing body
temperature and intracranial pressure (ICP). Although therapeutic hypothermia effectively reduced ICP, current evidence does not demonstrate significant improvements in mortality or long-term neurological outcomes.
In conclusion, temperature management, particularly selective brain cooling and maintaining a target temperature of 36.0 - 37.5°C, plays an important role in preventing secondary brain injury and supports effective clinical management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury.
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