title: Poikilothermia syndrome.
abstract: Poikilothermia syndrome is a rare cause of intrinsic thermoregulatory failure. Patients with this syndrome regulate body temperature poorly, if at all. Recently, a patient was referred to us who had clinical evidence of poikilothermia syndrome, as well as long-standing multiple sclerosis. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance scanning failed to identify a hypothalamic lesion. The patient was gradually warmed to sweating, and then cooled to vasoconstriction and shivering. The core-temperature thresholds triggering each defence were calculated, after compensating for the changes in skin temperature. The calculated sweating threshold was 38.3 degrees C (normal: 37.0 +/- 0.3 degrees C). The vasoconstriction threshold was 34.4 degrees C (normal: 36.4 +/- 0.3 degrees C). The sweating-to-vasoconstriction interthreshold range was thus approximately 4 degrees C, which is between 10 and 20 times the normal value. The shivering threshold was 31.8 degrees C (normal: 35.6 +/- 0.3 degrees C). The vasoconstriction-to-shivering range was thus approximately 2.5 degrees C which is more than twice the normal value. The pattern of thermoregulatory failure in this patient resembled that resulting from general anaesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and General Intensive Care, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurz
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Sessler
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tayefeh
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goldberger
mesh_terms: D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D012768:Shivering; D013546:Sweating; D013577:Syndrome