What is the appropriate treatment for a patient with moderate hypothermia?
Hypothermia is a medical emergency in which your body loses heat faster than it can produce it, causing a dangerous drop in the core body temperature. Without rapid and decisive treatment, the heart, lungs, and other organs can begin to shut down, leading to organ failure and death. Show The primary aim is to remove the victim from the cold and to rewarm his or her body safely until emergency services arrive. Medical treatment may involve passive rewarming, warming intravenous infusions, blood rewarming, and the irrigation of the lungs and abdomen with warm salt water. Verywell / Emily Roberts Stopping Heat LossHypothermia occurs when the core body temperature—the temperature of the organs and blood in the center of the body, not the skin—drops below 95 degrees. This may happen in a number of situations, such as when someone is out in cold weather for too long or falls into icy water. People who are wet will lose body heat faster than those who are dry. Similarly, windy conditions can steal heat away from the body faster than in still conditions. People with severe injury also are at risk for hypothermia. Regardless of the cause or your certainty of a case of hypothermia, if you are with someone who is experiencing signs and symptoms—low heart rate and shallow respiration are particularly concerning—you need to act quickly by first stopping the loss of body heat. To do this:
RewarmingOnce you have the individual sheltered from the cold and have removed any wet clothing, you will need to take the appropriate action to rewarm the body until help arrives. To do so safely:
Medical InterventionIf further care is required, different techniques may be used to rewarm the body based on the severity of the hypothermia: Passive External Rewarming Passive external rewarming (PER) is typically used to treat mild hypothermia. It simply involves placing the individual in an appropriately warm environment, covered in insulation, and gradually raising the core body temperature a few degrees every hour. Active Core Rewarming PER cannot be used if a person's temperature drops below 86 degrees. It is at this stage that spontaneous shivering will stop and the body will no longer be able to increase the temperature on its own. By that point, the heart will be unstable and the use of external heat will only increase the risk of arrhythmia. Instead of PER, active core rewarming (ACR) will be used to raise the core body temperature in a safer and more direct fashion. There are several ways this can be done:
Treatment Follow-Up Generally speaking, someone with hypothermia is released home after treatment is complete if his or her body temperature was above 89.9 degrees at the time of diagnosis. If body temperature was ever below 89.9 degrees, hospitalization and monitoring for no less than 24 hours, until vital functions are stabilized, is required. Which would the nurse's immediate interventions be for the client with moderate hypothermia?CORRECT: During moderate hypothermia, core rewarming methods (e.g., warm IV fluids, heated oxygen, heated gastric lavage) should be initiated prior to external rewarming methods (e.g., heating blankets, warm packs) to prevent “after-drop”.
What is moderate hypothermia?For moderate hypothermia (32 to 28oC), signs and symptoms include: decreasing conscious state. urine incontinence as a result of an increased workload on the kidneys related to blood being shunted to the major organs. no longer shivering. slowed heart rate, breathing rate and low blood pressure.
What is the best treatment you can apply to casualty with hypothermia?Cover the head to ensure as much body warmth is retained as possible. If conscious give the casualty warm drinks (NOT alcohol) Provide warmth to the person with hot water bottles or heat packs to the neck, armpits and groin. If hypothermia is severe, call Triple Zero and stay with the person until medical aid arrives.
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