Forced Air Speeds Rewarming in Accidental Hypothermia

Study objective: To compare the rates of rewarming of forced-air and passive insulation as a treatment for accidental hypothermia. Methods: We carried out a prospective, randomized clinical trial in two urban, university-affiliated emergency departments. Our subjects were 16 adult hypothermia victims with core temperatures less than 32°C. A convective cover inflated with air at about 43°C (forced-air group) or cotton blankets (control group) were applied until the patientʹs core temperature reached 35°C. Members of both groups were given IV fluids warmed to 38°C and warmed, humidified oxygen at 40°C by inhalation. Results: The mean±SD initial temperature was 28.8°±2.5°C (range, 25.5°C to 31.9°C) in the patients who underwent forced-air rewarming and 29.8°±1.5°C (range, 28.2°C to 31.9°C) in those given blankets. Core temperature increased about 1°C/hour faster in patients treated with forced-air rewarming (about 2.4°C/hour) than in patients given only cotton blankets (about 1.4°C/hour, P=.01). Core-temperature afterdrop was detected in neither group. Conclusion: Forced air accelerated the rate of rewarming without producing apparent complications in hypothermic patients. [Steele MT, Nelson MJ, Sessler DI, Fraker L, Bunney B, Watson WA, Robinson WA: Forced air speeds rewarming in accidental hypothermia. Ann Emerg Med April 1996;27:479-484.]