Abstract
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This new issue includes a special Expert Panel Discussion that was held during the March 2016 Chilling at the Beach Symposium in Miami, FL. The Panel Discussion focused on CNS injury temperature management and included several experts in the field of brain and spinal cord injury. Clinical studies included the discussion on the HOPES Trial for TBI patients undergoing decompression surgery with therapeutic hypothermia. Another interesting topic dealt with the use of hypothermia in spinal cord injury (SCI), where various groups have reported both preclinical and clinical success after severe SCI. The use of hypothermia after neonatal encephalopathy has also been successful in the clinic, but combination therapies including the use of Xenon are now being evaluated.
In addition to the round table discussion, several timely articles are also included presenting novel data on the use of temperature management in various experimental and clinical situations. In one study, Dhakl et al. report on the use of assessing pupillary light reflexes after cardiac arrest in patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia. In another original article, Tasan et al. provided information on the ability to predict survivors based on measurements upon admission that demonstrate predictive ability using therapeutic hypothermia. Sakurai et al. compared outcomes between patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia for cardiac arrest due to cardiac respiratory causes.
Antishivering medication requirements during therapeutic hypothermia continue to be an important topic of discussion. Kirk et al. reported on the amount of antishivering interventions that were required between patients that were cooled using intravascular versus surface cooling methodologies. In another original publication, Mader and colleagues described the use of therapeutic hypothermia in an aged patient population to determine whether age was an important predictor of therapeutic hypothermia underutilization in the elderly.
The Arctic Challenge again addressed several subjects of interest to the general readership of the Journal. Important topics being debated in scientific meetings and literature were reviewed with answers based on peer-reviewed information. One question concerns the use of EEG monitoring in patient management and in neuroprognostication. Another involves the use of therapeutic hypothermia for the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage. Because reductions in temperature can alter medication pharmacokinetics, a discussion on mannitol administration during targeted temperature management is also included. Finally, an informative update on the different cooling strategies for inducing and maintaining therapeutic hypothermia is provided to our readership. We again hope that our readers continue to enjoy the Journal and the information provided in each issue. If you have any questions regarding submission of original articles, state-of-the-art reviews, or letters to the Editor, please contact me directly. Again, we thank our reviewers for providing expert opinions on submitted articles as well as the authors for submitting timely and important articles.