Abstract
Accidental hypothermia, defined as a core temperature <35 °C secondary to unanticipated cold exposure, is prevalent in all geographic regions and carries significant morbidity and mortality. The adage that “a person is not dead until warm and dead” remains true and aggressive resuscitation is therefore indicated in nearly every patient who presents with accidental hypothermia. Unfortunately, no strong evidence-based guidelines exist as the literature surrounding optimal management consists almost exclusively of case reports. Still, the amount of information on the topic allows the provider to develop a rationale treatment plan specific to the patient’s presentation and available resources. This chapter will review the existing evidence surrounding the accurate diagnosis of accidental hypothermia, basics of rewarming strategies, appropriate selection of rewarming modality, and controversial aspects of management.
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Abbreviations
- °C:
-
Degrees Celsius
- ACLS:
-
Advanced Cardiac Life Support
- AHA:
-
American Heart Association
- CAVR:
-
Continuous arteriovenous rewarming
- CPB:
-
Cardiopulmonary bypass
- CPR:
-
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- CVVHD:
-
Continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration
- CVVR:
-
Continuous venovenous rewarming
- CXR:
-
Chest X-ray
- ECG:
-
Electrocardiogram
- EMS:
-
Emergency medicine services
- IV:
-
Intravenous
- PRBC:
-
Packed red blood cells
- VA-ECMO:
-
Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- VF:
-
Ventricular fibrillation
- VT:
-
Ventricular tachycardia
- VV-ECMO:
-
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
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Harvey, C., Co, I.N. (2020). Accidental Hypothermia. In: Hyzy, R.C., McSparron, J. (eds) Evidence-Based Critical Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26710-0_10
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