Therapeutic Hypothermia Lab Report

2.7 Monitoring physiological measurements it´s important to make sure the individual health status and also necessary after surgery, as patients in intensive care units require continuous monitoring, and sometimes have medications that requires physical measurements taken. These are measurements we take to ensure that they are functioning in the way they are supposed to. When we carry out physiological measurements, such as measuring temperature, pulse and respiration, we are monitoring for signs of abnormality. Then be able to draw conclusions about the health status of the individual and any treatments they may

Your child will stay in a recovery area until the anesthesia has worn off. His or her blood pressure and heart rate will be checked often. Usually a parent or guardian will be able to hold him or her once he or she starts to wake up. When recovered from the anesthesia, he or she will be moved to an intensive care area or to a general hospital room.

The American Heart Association (2011) states that, "Therapeutic hypothermia is the only intervention demonstrated to improve neurologic recovery after cardiac arrest" (Pp 77). Recommendations range between 32 and 36 degrees centigrade for 12 to 36 hours. Cooling may be achieved through either introduction of cooled, isotonic, non-glucose-containing fluid, or surface cooling interventions like ice packs or cold packs. The AHA states, however, that patient core temperature must be monitored by an esophageal thermometer, a pulmonary artery catheter, or a bladder catheter and that peripheral temperature measurements via axillary, aural, or oral thermometers are inadequate for measuring core temperatures in targeted temperature management. Therefore, while the AHA does recommend initiation of therapeutic hypothermia by EMS personnel in certain situations, agencies must carry--and be trained in the use of--equipment to adequately measure the patient 's core temperature. Further, the AHA states that therapeutic hypothermia results in increased neurologic function post-cardiac-arrest but does not identify a timeframe for initiation for these protocols, let alone explore whether or not initiation of post-cardiac-arrest targeted temperature management by EMS influences patient outcomes.

Malignant hypothermia has many symptoms including bleeding, dark brown urine, low blood pressure, and a rapid heartbeat. Most patients will have the high body temperature of 105-113 Fahrenheit, muscle rigidity and stiffness, muscle pain, and sweating profoundly. These symptoms occur within one hour of the anesthetic or can take up to 12 hours to show. Some complications of MH include amputation, death, kidney failure, abnormal bleeding/blood clotting, swelling of the feet and hands,

Myringotomy is usually done using medication to make your child sleep during the procedure (general anesthesia). Ask your health care provider when your child needs to stop eating, drinking, or bottle-feeding before surgery.

Hypothermia is not a widely used treatment due to risk for complications associated with hypothermia such as pneumonia, seizures and infection.

Survivors of cardiac arrest often suffer from neurological damage when oxygen to the brain is depleted. This ischemia to the brain can cause lesions or damaged areas; which can effect any part of the body that is controlled by that portion of the brain. Decreasing the body temperature of a patient has shown to be effective in decreasing the amount of damage to the brain. Therapeutic hypothermia may be a reasonable treatment for patients following cardiac arrest due to its ability to decrease the impact of ischemia; reducing the number of lesions to the brain and possibly reducing the patient mortality rate. This paper will discuss the benefits, risks, and Mercy Hospital 's protocol for using therapeutic hypothermia following a cardiac arrest.

When the cold packs are not in use they are stored in a cooling unit or freezer at a temperature of 12 degree. (Starkey, C) When using the cold pack you must use some type of insulator to prevent frostbite. The insulator at the physical therapy office I worked in uses a pillow case as their insulator so the cold packs won’t touch the patient skin. However, if the patient is wearing clothes that are thick enough to not use the pillow case then, that can be an option as well. The cold pack is usually used no longer than 15 minutes at a time, once the patient feel numb from the ice it will be time to take it off. Patient can also use ice as needed at home. Another thermal modality that is used on a daily basic is heat. Heating packs are different and give different benefits to the patient.

Perioperative hypothermia causes adverse effects in the recovery of a post-operative patient. These well known effects include delayed anaesthetic recovery, increased incidence and duration of postoperative ventilation, increased blood loss and transfusion requirements, increased cardiac events, increased surgical wound infection, pro-longed hospital length-of-stay (LOS) and higher hospital mortality.

233). These experiments and others eventually led to the use of therapeutic hypothermia in humans undergoing certain cardiac surgery in which an extended ischemic period was expected although the degree of the therapeutic hypothermia, which ranged from 30-32 ºC, was associated with an increased risk of complications. As a result, the use of therapeutic hypothermia was relatively limited until it was discovered that by inducing a milder hypothermia (32-34 ºC) the number of complications associated with this protective treatment were greatly reduced. The publication of two landmark studies led to the widespread acceptance of mild therapeutic hypothermia as a protective measure for individuals who have experienced and out-of-hospital cardiac

• Giving your baby fluids through an IV tube. This may be needed if your baby has difficulty feeding.

Place your child inbetween [sic] your legs, head closest to your body - face up obviously (near your bottom!) then spread their arms out scarecrow style so your legs rest over them. They can now not move.... you can keep both arms under control with your legs without hurting them, you can move your legs together to keep their head still and you have 2 hands to administer inhaler / use spacer.’

Hypothermia occurs when an infant's core body temperature drops below 97.5 degrees. When an infant experience cold stress conditions through being exposed to moist atmospheric conditions, then enters into an environment where they are unable to regain lost body heat, hypothermia sets in. Premature and low-birth weight babies are greater risk of hypothermia. However, in general all newborns are susceptible to hypothermia, as they do not have to ability to maintain proper body temperature. Here are some example of hypothermia in an infant:

Heat exhaustion is one of several heat-related emergencies that can be potentially fatal if not treated promptly and correctly. Heat related emergencies encompass three phases, which represent progressive worsening of symptoms and thus potential morbidity of the condition. These three phases include heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and ultimately heat stroke that without prompt treatment can result in serious injury or even death. Treatment of heat exhaustion and heat-related emergencies is focused on prompt identification of symptoms and subsequent supportive treatment to reduce core body temperature and prevent potential complications associated with the condition. Education regarding identification of early signs of heat-related emergencies has helped to reduced incidences of heat stroke, but current research has also found new ways to treat heat stroke and prevent complications associated with heat-related emergencies. With this advent of new treatments outlooks for those suffering from heat stroke have improved, however the best treatment is still early identification and prevention of heat-related emergencies.

Many people have an understanding of what hyperthermia is and the reasons it may occur in an individual. Hyperthermia occurs when the body’s core temperature reaches between 37-38°C due an inability to dissipate heat. In most cases, the occurrence of hyperthermia can be credited to a known reason. Examples include being outside in extremely hot temperatures without any cooling mechanism or vigorous exercise in extreme heat causing the body’s temperature to rise. Hyperthermia is determined by an increase in core temperature at a rate of 1–2°C every five minutes (2, 11). However, in certain individuals, the use of general anesthesia can cause individuals to suffer from an inherited disorder known as malignant hyperthermia. When malignant hyperthermia is triggered, individuals are at risk of hypoxemia, metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis and a quick rise in the person’s body temperature