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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Short-Duration Hypothermia Induction in Rats using Models for Studies examining Clinical Relevance and Mechanisms
Published on: March 3, 2021
Prehospital induction of therapeutic hypothermia during CPR: a pilot study
Antti Kämäräinen1, Ilkka Virkkunen, Jyrki Tenhunen
1Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. antti.kamarainen@uta.fi
Aim Of The Study:
We studied induction of therapeutic hypothermia during prehospital resuscitation from cardiac arrest using an infusion of ice-cold Ringer's solution in five adult patients.
Material And Methods:
Paramedics infused +4 degrees C Ringer's solution into the antecubital vein of the patients with a maximum rate of 33 ml/min to a target temperature of 33.0 degrees C.
Results:
The mean infused volume of cold fluid was 14.0 ml/kg, which resulted in a mean decrease of 2.5 degrees C in nasopharyngeal temperature. The decrease in temperature continued after the cessation of infusion in two patients, causing suboptimal temperatures below 32 degrees C.
Conclusion:
We conclude that the infusion of small volumes of ice-cold Ringer's solution during resuscitation results in an effective decrease in nasopharyngeal temperature. Caution should be taken to avoid temperatures below the range of mild therapeutic hypothermia.
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