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Induced hypothermia has been shown to lower mortality risk in patients who experience cerebral hypoxemia after a cardiac arrest. Animal models of bacterial meningitis and one small clinical trial also showed a benefit of induced hypothermia. As a result, investigators in France conducted an open-label, randomized trial of induced hypothermia (target core temperature, 32° C to 34° C, for 48 hours) versus standard care to assess 3-month functional outcomes in patients with severe bacterial meningitis.
After 98 participants were enrolled at 34 centers, the Data Safety and Monitoring Board stopped the trial because of a significantly higher mortality rate among treated patients than among controls (51% vs. 31%). Aside from the induced hypothermi…