Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 Nov;57(5):713-715.
doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2019.08.041. Epub 2019 Oct 16.

A Novel Technique for Ice Water Immersion in Severe Drug-Induced Hyperthermia in the Emergency Department

Alfred Z Wang  1 , Ivan P Lupov  1 , Brian K Sloan  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Novel Technique for Ice Water Immersion in Severe Drug-Induced Hyperthermia in the Emergency Department

Alfred Z Wang et al. J Emerg Med. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Methamphetamine can cause life-threatening hyperthermia and treatment must be aggressive and rapid. There are multiple methods of cooling, with cold-water immersion being one of the most effective treatment options. However, this method is technically difficult to institute in the emergency department setting.

Case report: We report 2 patients who presented with life-threatening hyperthermia from methamphetamine and were treated in the emergency department with a novel technique of using a body bag filled with ice water to perform rapid cooling. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: This method of cooling is a safe, rapid, and efficacious method for emergency physicians to perform cold water immersion in the department.

Keywords: body cooling; cooling rates; emergency medicine; hyperthermia; methamphetamine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types