ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Stroke
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1553750
This article is part of the Research TopicCurrent Advances and Challenges in Neurocritical Care after Reperfusion Therapy: From Bench Work to Practical AspectsView all 6 articles
Targeted Temperature Management in Patients with Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion after Successful Recanalization
Provisionally accepted
- Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Republic of Korea
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Background and Purpose: Targeted temperature management (TTM) has been reported to improve outcomes in retrospective clinical studies, especially after recanalization in patients with anterior circulation stroke. However, the efficacy of TTM in managing posterior circulation stroke remains unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the clinical effects of TTM in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion who had successful revascularization. Methods: We enrolled patients with acute ischemic stroke due to basilar artery occlusion, with an initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of ≥ 10, who had successful recanalization (defined as thrombolysis in cerebral ischemia grade ≥ 2b). All patients underwent a TTM protocol targeting a core temperature of 36°C, supported by mechanical ventilation and at least 24 hours of temperature management. Clinical outcomes were compared, including favorable outcomes at 3 months (defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of ≤ 3), mortality, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and safety profiles. Results: The TTM group (n = 16) had a significantly lower rate of good clinical outcomes [2 (12.5%) vs. 12 (48.0%), P = 0.045] and a significantly longer ICU stay [11.0 (8.5-15.0) vs. 9.0 (4.0-12.0), P = 0.007] compared to the non-TTM group (n = 25). Mortality was higher in the non-TTM group, although this difference was not statistically significant. Pneumonia occurred significantly more frequently in the TTM group than in the non-TTM group (P = 0.004). Conclusions: TTM may not improve clinical outcomes in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion after successful recanalization.
Keywords: targeted temperature management1, acute basilar artery occlusion2, recanalization3, anterior circulation stroke4, acute ischemic stroke5, posterior circulation stroke6
Received: 31 Dec 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kim, Kang, Choi and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joonggoo Kim, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Republic of Korea
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