Controlled comparison of radio wave regional hyperthermia and peritoneal lavage rewarming after immersion hypothermia.

Anesthetized random source dogs were cooled by ice-water immersion to a stable core temperature of 25 degrees C and subsequently rewarmed with normal saline peritoneal lavage (43 degrees C, 175 ml/kg/hr) or radio frequency electromagnetic-induced regional hyperthermia (4-6 watts/kg). The mean time required for core rewarming to 30 degrees C was 183 +/- 79 minutes for lavage and 58 +/- 13 minutes for radio wave therapy (p less than 0.01). There was no evidence of tissue damage with either modality. These data suggest radio wave regional hyperthermia is superior to peritoneal lavage for core rewarming of rapidly induced immersion hypothermia.