Monitoring Intracerebral Temperature in Neurosurgical Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim:  To monitor the intracerebral temperature in neurosurgical patients

Study design: A cross-sectional study

Place and duration: This study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad, Pakistan from January 2020 to January 2021

Methodology: We employed a newly developed technology using copper-constantan thermocouples injected through a plastic catheter also used to monitor intracranial pressure to take continuous measurements of the temperature of the lateral ventricle in ten neurosurgery patients.

Results: Approximately 90 percent of the time, the intraventricular temperature was greater than the rectal temperature. The greatest temperature difference recorded was 2.3°C. The temperature differential between the rectum and the brain was usually substantially less, with a mean value of 0.33°C. The rectal temperature was near enough to the brain temperature for the patients in the most serious state to provide a credible foundation for clinical judgment.

Conclusion: This study is particularly true for the most severely affected patient, which probably would be the ones most sensitive to increased brain temperature. We, therefore, conclude that the methods for the temperature measurement routinely used in the intensive care unit reflect the temperature of the brain to an extent that is sufficient to afford a reliable basis for adequate clinical judgment.