Effect of cooling time on survival in classical heatstroke

Abstract

Although rapid cooling is considered a cornerstone of the treatment of heatstroke, there are little data to correlate rapid cooling with improved outcome. We performed a retrospective analysis of 31 classical heatstroke patients who were classified as rapid coolers (temperature ≤ 38.9° C within 1 h of emergency department [ED] presentation) or delayed coolers (temperature > 38.9° C 1 h after ED presentation) independent of cooling method. Rapid coolers had a much lower mortality (12% vs 36%); however, this finding was not statistically significant (p = 0.12). These preliminary data suggest that continued investigation is warranted to further define the relationship between cooling time and mortality.