ReviewCureus2026
Warm Versus Cold Irrigation in Brain Surgery: A Comprehensive Review.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Irrigation is used in every brain surgery operation, yet the optimal temperature of irrigation fluid remains poorly defined and is a topic of debate among neurosurgeons. The majority of neurosurgeons who use warm irrigation cite maintaining normothermia and its perceived hemostatic benefit as their main reasons. However, basic science, neurophysiology, and clinical data challenge the rationale for warm irrigation and suggest that cold irrigation is more advantageous given its neuroprotective properties. Hyperthermia exacerbates neuronal injury, increases metabolic demand, lowers seizure threshold, and worsens outcomes following CNS injury. Conversely, hypothermia reduces intracranial pressure, decreases cerebral metabolism, limits oxidative damage, and improves outcomes in numerous injury models. This review synthesizes the available literature on irrigation temperature in cranial neurosurgery and argues that cold irrigation is superior because it is physiologically consistent with the principles of neuroprotection, metabolic suppression, and seizure prevention.
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Registered trials
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