Episode #6: The Importance of Fever Prevention in Clinical Practice

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

The podcast entitled “The Importance of Fever Prevention in Clinical Practice” with Dr. Shahed Toossi, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Cedars Sinai Medical Center and Dr. Rainer Lenhardt, Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Louisville covered several important topics. The occurrence of fever in clinical practice and mechanisms underlying postinjury temperature elevations were discussed. Also, whether or not the clinical literature had convincingly demonstrated whether preventing fever actually improved clinical outcomes was also debated. Issues regarding specific patient populations where prophylactic fever avoidance might be most effective and the significance of the recent TTM2 trial for cardiac arrest where targeted normothermia (37.8oC) was directly compared to targeted hypothermia (33oC) was mentioned. There are multiple strategies for preventing and treating periods of fever and the advantages of these approaches were discussed. The issue of patient heterogeneity in clinical trials was emphasized and the goals of the ICECAP trial where optimal durations of hypothermia treatment are being evaluated was discussed. This rich discussion generated several unanswered questions again emphasizing the continued interest in this experimental treatment strategy and the need for additional research.