Accidental hypothermia - A review on the underlying physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment of accidental hypothermia

Abstract

Accidental hypothermia is a rare condition with few deaths per year, but hypothermic patients have a 30% chance of dying. The past 15-20 years there has been an increased understanding of how hypothermia affects human physiology and may cause life-threatening conditions like arrhythmias, cardiovascular shock and pulmonary edema. New understanding of underlying mechanisms of hypothermia- induced complications have led to new clinical guidelines and improved survival rates the last 20-30 years. This review will briefly focus on the underlying physical and physiological mechanisms for maintaining temperature homeostasis. The main goal is to give a detailed look on how hypothermia affect human physiology and give a review of the research done on the underlying mechanisms of hypothermia and rewarming associated complications, with an emphasis on heart and cardiovascular complications.