Which is an indication for Targeted Temperature Management?

Which is an indication for Targeted Temperature Management?

• A. ROSC with no purposeful movement to sternal rub 5 minutes into ROSC
• B. Age under 16 years
• C. Hypothermia exists (<32 C)
• D. Pregnancy identified

Answer: (A)

Targeted Temperature Management is used after return of spontaneous circulation to protect the brain in patients who remain unconscious or unresponsive. The strongest indication in this scenario is a patient who has ROSC but shows no purposeful movement in response to stimulation (for example, a sternal rub) several minutes after ROSC. That sustained lack of purposeful movement signals coma, and TTM is aimed at reducing brain injury in this state by keeping the body at a controlled temperature. Being younger than 16 isn’t an automatic indication for TTM; many systems consider the neurological status rather than age alone. If someone is already hypothermic (core temperature <32 C), you wouldn’t initiate cooling to deepen hypothermia—you’d manage rewarming as appropriate. Pregnancy by itself isn’t an indication for TTM either.

Targeted Temperature Management is used after return of spontaneous circulation to protect the brain in patients who remain unconscious or unresponsive. The strongest indication in this scenario is a patient who has ROSC but shows no purposeful movement in response to stimulation (for example, a sternal rub) several minutes after ROSC. That sustained lack of purposeful movement signals coma, and TTM is aimed at reducing brain injury in this state by keeping the body at a controlled temperature.

Being younger than 16 isn’t an automatic indication for TTM; many systems consider the neurological status rather than age alone. If someone is already hypothermic (core temperature <32 C), you wouldn’t initiate cooling to deepen hypothermia—you’d manage rewarming as appropriate. Pregnancy by itself isn’t an indication for TTM either.