Summary
Therapeutic hypothermia for ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis
LLanos Méndez A, Prieto Uceda M
Affiliation of the authors
Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias de Andalucía, Consejería de Salud y Bienestar Social, Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain. Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Hospital Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
DOI
Quote
LLanos Méndez A, Prieto Uceda M. Therapeutic hypothermia for ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Emergencias. 2014;26:138-46
Summary
This systematic review to assess the efficacy and safety of therapeutic hypothermia to
treat ischemic stroke was based on searches of the MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of
Science databases and other sources. A total of 534 potentially relevant publications
were found. Six studies (5 clinical trials and 1 quasi-experimental study) that reported
results for mortality, neurologic function, or safety were reviewed. The Critical Appraisal
Skills Programme tools (Spanish versions) and the Jadad scoring system were used to
guide critical analysis. The selected articles proved to have low risk of bias but limitations
on external validity. Meta-analysis revealed a tendency to higher mortality for patients
undergoing induced hypothermia (relative risk, 1.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.95-
2.91) and no significant differences for neurologic function between treatment groups.
The experimental group had a higher percentage of adverse events. Our conclusion is
that the evidence does not support the efficacy and safety of therapeutic induction of
hypothermia to treat ischemic stroke.