One night in a snowbank: a case report of severe hypothermia and cardiac arrest.
Hypothermia < 28 degrees C is rarely compatible with life, with only a few cases described surviving such low temperatures. We present a case of a man who survived with a core body temperature below 21.0 degrees C after spending a night in a snowbank with an ambient temperatures as low as -20.0 degrees C. Prolonged CPR and early initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation enabled survival without neurological deficit at hospital discharge. Frostbite was limited to both hands and all toes only; although the entire upper and lower extremity appeared to be deeply frozen on admission, amputation of both hands was inevitable and resulted in permanent disability.
Moser
B
B
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. berthold.moser@uibk.ac.at
Voelckel
W
W
Gardetto
A
A
Sumann
G
G
Wenzel
V
V
D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D005627:Frostbite / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006225:Hand / Q000098:blood supply*; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D007511:Ischemia / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome