Journal of neurosurgical anesthesiology
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Apr 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEffectiveness of an intravascular cooling method compared with a conventional cooling technique in neurologic patients.
Fever is common among neurologic patients and is usually treated by antipyretic drugs and external cooling. An alternative method for temperature management may be an intravascular approach. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness and the therapeutic costs of this new method with conventional treatment in neurologic patients. ⋯ Costs varied significantly between the CoolGard and the Conventional groups, with markedly higher daily costs in the CoolGard group [CoolGard: 15 to 140 US dollars (USD) (median 39 USD) vs. Conventional: 1 to 9 USD (median 5 USD), P<0.05]. The effectiveness of the intravascular cooling catheter is excellent compared with conventional cooling therapies.