| Abstract: | Goheen, M. S. L., M. B. Ducharme, G. P. Kenny, C. E. Johnston, John Frim, Gerald K. Bristow, and Gordon G. Giesbrecht. Efficacy of forced-air and inhalation rewarming by using a humanmodel for severe hypothermia. J. Appl.Physiol. 83(5): 1635-1640, 1997. We recentlydeveloped a nonshivering human model for severe hypothermia by usingmeperidine to inhibit shivering in mildly hypothermic subjects. Thisthermal model was used to evaluate warming techniques. On threeoccasions, eight subjects were immersed for ~25 min in 9°C water.Meperidine (1.5 mg/kg) was injected before the subjects exited thewater. Subjects were then removed, insulated, and rewarmed in anambient temperature of  20°C with either1) spontaneous rewarming (control),2) inhalation rewarming withsaturated air at ~43°C, or 3)forced-air warming. Additional meperidine (to a maximumcumulative dose of 2.5 mg/kg) was given to maintain shiveringinhibition. The core temperature afterdrop was 30-40% less duringforced-air warming (0.9°C) than during control (1.4°C) andinhalation rewarming (1.2°C) (P < 0.05). Rewarming rate was 6- to 10-fold greater during forced-airwarming (2.40°C/h) than during control (0.41°C/h) andinhalation rewarming (0.23°C/h) (P < 0.05). In nonshivering hypothermic subjects, forced-air warming provided a rewarming advantage, but inhalation rewarming did not. |
