[Reevaluation of protective effect of mild hypothermia on brain ischemia following massive bleeding].

Mild hypothermia was speculated to have protected the brain from ischemic damage attributed to hypotension in two patients who had suffered massive bleeding. One patient developed hypotension below 40 mmHg of systolic pressure for 2 hr 30 min during hemi-hepatectomy. The patient's body temperature fell spontaneously to 31 degrees C and was maintained at about 31 degrees C during hypotension because a large amount of cold blood and fluid were given. Another patient injured by traffic accident developed hypotension below 40 mmHg of systolic pressure for 30 min. The patient was placed in hypothermic state of 33 degrees C by surface cooling immediately after induction of anesthesia. After the completion of surgery, no neurological deficit was found in either patient. Mild hypothermia is a useful and valuable method for protecting the brain during accidental profound hypotension.