Severe accidental hypothermia: rewarming strategy using a veno-venous bypass system and a convective air warmer.
OBJECTIVE
To study a rewarming strategy for patients with severe accidental hypothermia using a simple veno-venous bypass in combination with a convective air warmer.


METHODS
Eighteen beds in a university hospital intensive care unit.


METHODS
Four adults admitted with a core temperature less than 30 degrees C. Hypothermia was caused by alcoholic intoxication in three patients and by drug overdose in one patient.


RESULTS
All patients were rewarmed by a venovenous bypass and in three cases a convective air warmer was also used. At a bypass flow rate of 100-300 ml/min the mean increase in core temperature was 1.15 degrees C/h (Range: 1.1-1.2 degrees C/h). One patient died 2 days after rewarming as a consequence of a reactivated pancreatitis. The other three patients survived without neurological sequelae.


CONCLUSIONS
This rewarming technique seems safe and effective and allowed the controlled rewarming of our patients who suffered from severe accidental hypothermia
Bräuer
A
A
Dept. of Anesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Göttingen, Germany. abraeue@gwdg.de
Wrigge
H
H
Kersten
J
J
Rathgeber
J
J
Weyland
W
W
Burchardi
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000150:complications; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000150:complications; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017694:Rewarming / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*