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Previous Volume 331:1756-1760 December 29, 1994 Number 26 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Accidental hypothermia is defined as an unintentional decline in the core temperature below 35 °C. At this temperature, the coordinated systems responsible for thermoregulation begin to fail, since the compensatory physiologic responses to minimize heat loss through radiation, conduction, convection, respiration, and evaporation are very limited.^1,2,3,4 In this article, we shall present an overview of the pertinent pathophysiology and guidelines for resuscitation and rewarming.

Nuclei in the preoptic anterior hypothalamus coordinate heat conservation. Activation of these thermostats and the cutaneous cold receptors initiates a cascade of compensatory physiologic events (Table 1). After the initial stimulus, there is progressive . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Evaluation

Rewarming Strategies

Active External Rewarming

Active Core Rewarming

Pharmacologic Therapy

Conclusions

Source Information

From the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky. (D.F.D.), and the Naval Health Research Center, Thermal Division, San Diego, Calif. (R.S.P.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Danzl at the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292.

References

Related Letters:

Accidental Hypothermia
Antretter H., Bonatti J., Dapunt O. E., Hernández E., Praga M., Alcázar J. M., Murray P. T., Fellner S. K., Mülleneisen N., Danzl D. F., Pozos R. S.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1995; 332:1033-1035, Apr 13, 1995. Correspondence

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