Abstract
Objectives: To assess the efficacy and outcomes of targeted temperature management (TTM) in patients with acute encephalitis. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. After approval by the Institutional Ethics Committee, we collected data from a total of 17 patients with acute encephalitis who underwent targeted temperature management (TTM) out of 134 consecutive patients with acute encephalitis admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, Bach Mai Hospital, from January 2022 to July 2025. Results: Mean age was 32.5 ± 17.0 years (range 16–62), with no significant difference in the male-to-female ratio. The primary cause of acute encephalitis in the study group was autoimmune. Most patients achieved the target temperature within approximately 6 hours. The mean duration of maintaining the target temperature was approximately 5 days. Survival rates at discharge and 30 days post-discharge were 100% and 94.1%, respectively. Patient consciousness at discharge improved compared to admission to the intensive care unit. Most patients had neurological deficits and incomplete recovery of consciousness at discharge. The number of seizures and the duration of each seizure decreased after initiating temperature control. The doses of anti-seizure medications mostly did not increase after targeted temperature management and tended to decrease. Liver enzyme and CK levels did not increase after targeted temperature management. Most patients experienced shivering. Hypokalemia and coagulation disorders were rare, with no recorded bleeding complications. Ventilator-associated pneumonia occurred in nearly half of the patients. Conclusion: The mean time to achieve target temperature was 6.00 ± 2.06 hours. The mean time to achieve target temperature was shorter in the group using gel pads compared to the group using water blanket. The mean duration of maintaining targeted temperature control was approximately 5 days. Glasgow Coma Scale scores tended to improve at discharge compared to admission to the intensive care unit. The number of seizures and seizure duration decreased after targeted temperature management. Targeted temperature management did not increase the doses of some anti-seizure medications and tended to decrease them. Targeted temperature management did not increase liver enzyme or CK levels. The most common adverse effect was shivering
