In this exploratory retrospective study, body temperature was not independently associated with functional outcome in the overall cohort; a potential association between higher post-EVT temperature and unfavorable outcome in patients with baseline NIHSS ≤ 15 was hypothesis-generating only, since the interaction was not significant.
Fewer than half of patients with LVO-AIS achieved favorable 90-day functional outcome despite successful reperfusion.
Pre-EVT body temperature was not significantly associated with functional outcome.
In unadjusted analysis, higher post-EVT temperature was associated with lower odds of favorable outcome.
In unadjusted analysis, higher post-EVT temperature was associated with higher odds of mortality.
The associations of post-EVT temperature with functional outcome and mortality were attenuated and no longer significant after multivariable adjustment.
In exploratory subgroup analysis, higher post-EVT temperature was associated with lower odds of favorable outcome in patients with baseline NIHSS ≤ 15, but the interaction was not significant.
The study was designed to examine whether baseline stroke severity modifies the temperature-outcome association, an open question in the field.
This study looked back at records of 219 people who had a stroke caused by a blocked large brain artery and had the clot removed successfully with a procedure called endovascular thrombectomy. About 47.5% were doing well (living independently or with only slight disability) 90 days later. The researchers asked whether body temperature before and after the procedure was linked to recovery. Temperature before the procedure showed no significant link to outcome. Temperature after the procedure looked important at first: each 1 °C higher was linked to lower odds of a good recovery and higher odds of death. But once the researchers accounted for other differences between patients, such as age and stroke severity, these links were no longer statistically significant. So in the overall group, temperature was not shown to be independently tied to recovery. In a smaller subgroup analysis of patients with milder strokes (NIHSS of 15 or less), higher post-procedure temperature was linked to worse recovery. However, a formal test did not show that the effect truly differed between milder and more severe strokes. This research suggests the subgroup finding should be treated as an idea for future study, not a conclusion. Larger prospective studies are needed to learn whether controlling temperature could help patients.
Yan H, Wang Q, Zhang L, Xing G, Wang J, Wang Y, et al.. (2026). Periprocedural body temperature and clinical outcomes after successful reperfusion in large vessel occlusion stroke.. Frontiers in neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2026.1910898