Objective: To investigate the effect of a decrease in body temperature in the first 24 hours over the perihematomal hypodensity and the outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Methods: Retrospective study on a prospectively registered database. Among the 1100 patients, 795 met all the inclusion criteria. Temperature variations in the first 24 hours and perihematomal hypodensity (PHHD) were recorded. Patients with ³37.5 ˚C were treated with antihyperthermic drugs for at least 48 hours. The main objective was to determine the association between the temperature variation, the PHHD and the outcome at 3 months.

Results: The decrease in temperature in the first 24 hours increased 11 fold the possibility of good outcome. Temperature decrease, lower PHHD volume and a good outcome were observed in 31.8% of the patients who received antihyperthermic treatment.

Conclusion: The administration of early antihyperthermic treatment in patients with a spontaneous ICH with a basal axillary temperature ³37.5 ˚C resulted in good outcome in the third part of the treated patients.

Retrospective study on a prospectively registered database. Among the 1100 patients, 795 met all the inclusion criteria. Temperature variations in the first 24 hours and perihematomal hypodensity (PHHD) were recorded. Patients with ³37.5 ˚C were treated with antihyperthermic drugs for at least 48 hours. The main objective was to determine the association between the temperature variation, the PHHD and the outcome at 3 months.