Accidental hypothermia: an experimental study of practical rewarming methods.

Five rewarming techniques, appropriate for first-aid use in the nonhospital setting, were applied to each of nine subjects whose body temperatures had been lowered to 35 degrees C in a stirred tank of 7.5 degrees C water. The rewarming techniques were: a) inhalation of heated, water-saturated oxygen; b) placement of heating pads over areas of high heat transfer; c) combination of methods a) and b); d) hot whirlpool bath; and e) shivering. Inhalation of heated, water-saturated oxygen was significantly better than the shivering control in minimizing temperature "afterdrop" and is, therefore, preferred over the other techniques as it avoids the physiological hazards of the peripheral vasodilation from external rewarming.