Hypothermia for Traumatic Brain Injury — A Good Idea Proved Ineffective

Traumatic brain injury is an important cause of death and disability in both civilians and military personnel.1 In areas with organized trauma care systems and adequate critical care, the mortality from severe traumatic brain injury appears to have been lowered from approximately 50 percent in the 1970s to 30 percent more recently. More important, this reduction in mortality has been associated with an increase in the proportion of survivors with relatively normal cerebral function. However, this remarkable achievement is not widely recognized. These improvements can be ascribed to the more rapid transportation of patients to emergency departments, the avoidance of . . .