Trauma patient recovers after hypothermia therapy

When Morgan Harris arrived at the Emergency Department at Children's this past May, he was in bad shape. The 10-year-old Richardson boy had fallen some 30 feet from a tree in his neighborhood and sustained severe head injuries and a broken arm. His injuries required life-saving measures and brain surgery.

Morgan became the first patient at Children's to be enrolled in a hypothermia trial, which researchers believe may improve outcomes for head-injured patients. Children's is one of 12 pediatric hospitals participating in a national study called the Cool Kids Trial, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health. As the only Level I trauma center for pediatrics in the Texas, Children's receives the type of patients that qualify for the study.

Induced hypothermia is the same therapy that was used on Kevin Everett, a former Buffalo Bills tight end, when he injured his spinal cord during a game in September 2007. Many credit this therapy for Everett's dramatic recovery. He was speaking and walking within months after the treatment.

Hypothermia as a treatment for traumatic brain injury

"The doctors at Children's explained that they're taking the hypothermia treatment a step further by studying it in children with traumatic brain injury," said Jessica Harris, Morgan's mother.

Dr. Pam Okada, the emergency room physician who treated Morgan at Children's, said, "We need to affirm that cooling these children is both safe and helps to prevent secondary brain injury, potentially improving their lives after a life-altering brain injury." Dr. Okada is also the lead investigator of the Cool Kids Trial and an associate professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical School.

Mrs. Harris said that Morgan is enjoying the summer playing with his neighborhood friends. He'll start the sixth grade in the fall.

A look at hypothermia therapy

• Patients are cooled between 89 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit for 48 hours using cooled saline injected intravenously or special cooling blankets.
• Patients will be followed by researchers for one year to track outcomes, measured three, six and 12 months following the initiation of treatment.

To learn more about hypothermia treatment in children, visit www.coolkidstrial.org/dallas.

To read about Morgan Harris, visit The Dallas Morning News.

Tags: hypothermia therapy, trauma, head injury