Snow-Boarder’s Snow Hypothermia

Report:

Sinus bradycardia 37/min

Intraventricular conduction defect c/c hypothermia

QRS 0.20”

Prolonged QT interval 0.73”

QTc 0.58”

Comment:

The unfortunate youth was stripped in the snow fields to cool him, but his skull and brain were smashed beyond repair. There is to date no evidence that induction of hypothermia benefits cerebral trauma (as opposed to circulatory insult from cardiac arrest).

The large hypothermic humps (J, or Osborn waves) diminished as the patient was rewarmed from 27oC to 30oC (Fig 53a below) and became hardly visible at 35.2oC (Fig 53b).

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