Metabolic Changes and Hemodynamic Dysfunction Following Hypothermic Shock.

Acute, severe, accidental hypothermia can produce a shock-like state which can subtly injure several organs. The manifestations of these injuries are difficult to observe because they may be masked by compensatory mechanisms. The resulting organ dysfunction can persist many hours past the return to normal body temperature. The severity of individual organ dysfunction is not always lethal, but coupled with the other organ changes, can jeopardize the survival of the victim. The purpose of these investigations is to uncover the mechanisms that produce the dysfunctions and determine appropriate therapeutic procedures to reverse this pathological process. We have shown that following immersion hypothermia and rewarm a cardiac dysfunction persists for at least 48 hours.