Hypothermia, defined as an unintentional decline in the core body temperature to below 35℃, is a life-threatening condition. Patients with malnutrition and diabetes mellitus as well as those of advanced age are at high risk for accidental hypothermia. Due to the high mortality rates of accidental hypothermia, proper management is critical for the wellbeing of patients. Accidental hypothermia wa...

Historically, hypothermia was induced prior to surgery to enable procedures with prolonged ischemia, such as open heart surgery and organ transplant. Within the past decade, the efficacy of hypothermia to treat emergency cases of ongoing ischemia such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest has been studied. Although the exact role of ischemia/reperfusion is unclear clinically, hyp...

Recent evidence supports the use of therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest. This article reviews recent published studies and describes the pathophysiology of hypothermia. Nurses need to understand the physiology of hypothermia to provide care for patients receiving therapeutic hypothermia. A suggested protocol is included to help manage the care of these patients.

Hypothermia has long been known to be a potent putative neuroprotectant. Experimental evidence and clinical experience show that hypothermia protects the brain from cerebral injury. Recent insights into the mechanisms of cerebral ischemia and reperfusion suggest reasons why hypothermia may be an ideal modality for stroke therapy. Hypothermia protects brain tissue in multiple ways. It retards en...

Hypothermia for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains controversial despite a strong biological rationale and reasonable evidence from the literature. The "negative" Clifton study seems to have reduced enthusiasm for hypothermia, however the aim of this review is to analyse the evidence from all randomised controlled trials (RCT) and meta-analyses on this topic to determine ...

hypothermia is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality especially in low-income settings. to control this problem in countries such as iran a full knowledge of the situation is of great importance. a review was performed both in persian and english, including international databases. totally 934 articles were reviewed and finally five articles were selected. the incidence of neon...

BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide health concern associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, severe TBI is managed according to recommendations set forth in 2007 by the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF), which were based on relatively low quality clinical trials. These guidelines prescribed the use of hypothermia for the management of TBI. Several...

BACKGROUND Mild hypothermia is currently standard of care for cardiac arrest patients in many hospitals and a common belief is that hypothermia attenuates platelet aggregation. We wanted to examine the effects of clopidogrel on platelet aggregation during hypothermia. METHODS Platelet reactivity at 37° C and 33° C was evaluated by light transmission aggregometry and vasodilator-stimulated pho...

Moderate hypothermia may have a beneficial effect on the neurological outcome. However, ischemic deterioration such as brain swelling during rewarming has been reported as a notable complication after successful therapeutic cerebral hypothermia. In this study, we investigated the effects of hyperbaric oxygenation during rewarming. Forebrain ischemia was produced in 24 gerbils and sham ischemia ...

Mild or moderate hypothermia is generally thought to block all changes in signaling events that are detrimental to ischemic brain, including ATP depletion, glutamate release, Ca(2+) mobilization, anoxic depolarization, free radical generation, inflammation, blood-brain barrier permeability, necrotic, and apoptotic pathways. However, the effects and mechanisms of hypothermia are, in fact, variab...