Influence of Hypothermia on the Clinical and Molecular Status of a Freshwater Drowning Victim with Severe Trauma. A Case Report

Abstract

Drowning in freshwater kills many people around the world. Complications are multiple and sometimes impossible to treat. Fluid and electrolyte resuscitation is difficult because of all the physiological, biophysical and biochemical changes that decrease the rate of survival. Extreme lung injury and cardiovascular disorders are responsible for tissue hypoxia, increased production of inflammation markers, biosynthesis of reactive oxygen species and finally, multiple organ damage. Hypothermia, frequently associated with drowning, provides multiple benefits to this type of patients. Various studies have developed the idea that hypothermia protects the brain from biochemical mediators, thereby preventing neuronal cell destruction. In this case report we present the biological parameters and evolution of a patient drowned in freshwater, and also the benefits of hypothermia to the clinical picture.

New Developments in the Treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction Associated with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. A Review

“…Induced mild hypothermia after global cerebral hypoxia is associated with improved outcomes as a consequence of the neuroprotective effect, via suppressing different path-ways of cell death, decreasing cerebral oxygen consumption and reducing the release of stimulatory amino acids and free radicals. [34][35][36][37] Over the last decade, therapeutic hypothermia has become standard care for comatose patients after OHCA with a shockable rhythm, but an analysis of the current studies on therapeutic hypothermia in patients with non-shockable rhythm indicates that controversy still exists.…”