Is dantrolene effective in heat stroke patients?

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Pharmacology
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Heat stroke (HS) is a critical medical emergency characterized by hyperthermia.
• Rapid body cooling is essential for managing heat stroke patients.
• Dantrolene's efficacy in accelerating cooling for heat stroke requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of intravenous dantrolene on the cooling time in heat stroke patients.
• To compare the recovery rates between heat stroke patients treated with dantrolene and those receiving standard cooling.

Main Methods:

• Eight heat stroke patients received intravenous dantrolene (2.45 mg/kg).
• A control group of 12 heat stroke patients received standard body surface cooling.
• Cooling was performed in air-conditioned rooms (18-23°C) with temperature monitored.

Main Results:

• The dantrolene group exhibited a significantly shorter mean cooling time (49.7 min) compared to the control group (69.2 min).
• Temperature decrease was significantly greater in the dantrolene group, reducing cooling time by approximately 19.5 minutes (p < .01).
• No significant difference in patient recovery was observed between the dantrolene and control groups.

Conclusions:

• Intravenous dantrolene significantly accelerates body surface cooling in heat stroke patients.
• Despite faster cooling, dantrolene did not improve patient recovery outcomes in this study.
• The high cost of dantrolene necessitates careful evaluation before its routine implementation in heat stroke management.