For Accidental Hypothermia, the Endovascular Route of Rewarming May Not Be Superior

Accidental hypothermia requires restoration of normal body temperature as soon as possible. In a retrospective study at a single level-1 trauma center, investigators compared endovascular strategies with other strategies for rewarming. For endovascular rewarming, the hospital used the CoolGuard 3000 thermal-regulation system and an intravascular catheter with 3 or 4 heat-exchange balloons, introduced via the common femoral vein.

Of 106 patients identified (core temperature, ≤32°C), 4% had cardiac arrest and rewarming by cardiopulmonary bypass and were excluded. There were 17 various combinations of rewarming methods; common ones were warm intravenous fluids (88%), forced air (80%), and the intravascular rewarming system (49%). Pleural and pe…