biology

Targeted temperature management

Targeted temperature management is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Targeted temperature management rather than just read about it. In short: Targeted temperature management (TTM), previously known as therapeutic hypothermia or protective hypothermia, is an active treatment that tries to achieve and maintain a specific body temperature in a person for a specific duration of time in an effort to improve health outcomes during recovery after a period of stopped blood flow to the brain. This is done in an attempt to reduce the risk of tissue injury following…

Key takeaways

Targeted temperature management belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Targeted temperature management to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Targeted temperature management from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Targeted temperature management (TTM), previously known as therapeutic hypothermia or protective hypothermia, is an active treatment that tries to achieve and maintain a specific body temperature in a person for a specific duration of time in an effort to improve health outcomes during recovery after a period of stopped blood flow to the brain. This is done in an attempt to reduce the risk of tissue injury following lack of blood flow. Periods of poor blood flow may be due to cardiac arrest or the blockage of an artery by a clot as in the case of a stroke. Targeted temperature management improves survival and brain function following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Evidence supports its use following certain types of cardiac arrest in which an individual does not regain consciousness. The target temperature is often between 32 and 34 °C. Targeted temperature management following traumatic brain injury is of unclear benefit. While associated with some complications, these are generally mild. Targeted temperature management is thought to prevent brain injury by several methods, including decreasing the brain's oxygen demand, reducing the production of neurotransmitters like glutamate, as well as reducing free radicals that might damage the brain. Body temperature may be lowered by many means, including cooling blankets, cooling helmets, cooling catheters, ice packs and ice water lavage.

Medical uses Targeted temperature management may be used in the following conditions:

Cardiac arrest The 2013 ILCOR and 2010 American Heart Association guidelines support the use of cooling following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. These recommendations were largely based on two trials from 2002 which showed improved survival and brain function when cooled to 32–34 °C (90–93 °F) after cardiac arrest. However, more recent research suggests that there is no benefit to cooling to 33 °C (91 °F) when compared with less aggressive cooling only to a near-normal temperature of 36 °C (97 °F); it appears cooling is effective because it prevents fever, a common complication seen after cardiac arrest. There is no difference in long term quality of life following mild compared to more severe cooling. In children, following cardiac arrest, cooling does not appear useful as of 2018. A recent Cochrane Review summarized available evidence on the topic and found that targeted temperature management around 33 °C may increase the chance to prevent brain damage after cardiac arrest by 40%.

Neonatal encephalopathy Hypothermia therapy for neonatal encephalopathy has been proven to improve outcomes for newborn infants affected by perinatal hypoxia-ischemia, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or birth asphyxia. A 2013 Cochrane review found that it is useful in full term babies with encephalopathy. Whole body or selective head cooling to 33–34 °C (91–93 °F), begun within six hours of birth and continued for 72 hours, reduces mortality and reduces cerebral palsy and neurological deficits in survivors.

Open heart surgery Targeted temperature management is used during open-heart surgery because it decreases the metabolic needs of the brain, heart, and other organs, reducing the risk of damage to them. The patient is given medication to prevent shivering. The body is then cooled to 25–32 °C (77–90 °F). The heart is stopped and an external heart-lung pump maintains circulation to the patient's body. The heart is cooled further and is maintained at a temperature below 15 °C (59 °F) for the duration of the surgery. This very cold temperature helps the heart muscle to tolerate its lack of blood supply during the surgery.

Adverse effects Possible complications may include: infection, bleeding, dysrhythmias and high blood sugar. One review found an increased risk of pneumonia and sepsis but not the overall risk of infection. Another review found a trend towards increased bleeding but no increase in severe bleeding. Hypothermia induces a "cold diuresis" which can lead to electrolyte abnormalities – specifically hypokalemia, hypomagnesaemia, and hypophosphatemia, as well as hypovolemia.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Targeted temperature management

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Targeted temperature management claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Targeted temperature management before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Targeted temperature management ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Targeted temperature management

In research: Targeted temperature management appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Targeted temperature management in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Targeted temperature management is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cryobiology, Medical treatments, Neonatology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Targeted temperature management outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Targeted temperature management in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Targeted temperature management means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Targeted temperature management out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Targeted temperature management in simple terms?

Why does Targeted temperature management matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Targeted temperature management?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Targeted temperature management.