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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-7-31
pubmed:abstractText
We performed a prospective observational (noninterventional) study of hypothermia blanket use in a population of adult intensive care unit patients with body temperatures of > or = 102.5 degrees F. Thirty-nine of ninety-four febrile episodes (in 83 patients) were treated with hypothermia blankets. Logistic regression revealed that the strongest independent predictors of hypothermia blanket use were a temperature of > or = 103.5 degrees F (odds ratio [OR] = 17), mechanical ventilation (OR = 25), and acute central nervous system illness (OR = 7.5). Hospitalization in the medical intensive care unit was strongly associated with avoidance of this therapy (OR = 0.023). Treatment with a hypothermia blanket was ordered by a physician in only 15% of cases. The mean cooling rate was the same (0.028 degree F/h) for blanket-treated and control patients. Multivariate Cox regression and factorial and repeated measures of analysis of variance revealed that blanket treatment was not more effective than other cooling methods. However, this treatment was associated with more "zigzag" temperature fluctuations of > or = 3 degrees F (56% of blanket-treated patients vs. 18% of control patients; P < .001) and rebound hypothermia (18% vs. 0; P = .001). Hypothermia blanket therapy is primarily a nursing decision. We conclude that in addition to being no more effective than other cooling measures, hypothermia blanket therapy was associated with more temperature fluctuations and with more episodes of rebound hypothermia.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1058-4838
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
24
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1208-13
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
Use and effectiveness of hypothermia blankets for febrile patients in the intensive care unit.
pubmed:affiliation
Section of Infectious Diseases, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article