Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Short-Duration Hypothermia Induction in Rats using Models for Studies examining Clinical Relevance and Mechanisms
Published on: March 3, 2021
Rapid rewarming after therapeutic hypothermia worsens outcome in sepsis
You Hwan Jo1, Kyuseok Kim1, Jae Hyuk Lee1
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Objective:
This study was performed to investigate the effect of the rewarming rate on survival and acute lung injury in sepsis.
Methods:
Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent cecal ligation and incision. After 1 hour of sepsis induction, normothermia (37°C±0.5°C, NT group) or hypothermia (32°C±0.5°C) was induced. Hypothermia was maintained for 4 hours and rats were divided into two groups according to the rewarming rate: RW1 group, 1 hour of rewarming; and RW2 group, 2 hours of rewarming. In the survival study, rats were observed for 12 hours after sepsis induction (n=6 per group). In the second experiment, rats were sacrificed 7 hours after sepsis induction, and lung tissues and plasma were harvested (n=10 per group).
Results:
In the survival study, the RW2 group survived longer than the RW1 group (P<0.05), but the RW1 and NT groups showed no significant difference in survival duration (P>0.05). The histological lung injury score and malondialdehyde concentrations in the lung tissues were significantly higher in the RW1 group than in the RW2 group (P<0.05). Plasma interleukin (IL)-6 concentration and the ratio of IL-6 to IL-10 were higher in the RW1 group than in the RW2 group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
Rapid rewarming after therapeutic hypothermia results in a shorter survival period and acute lung injury in sepsis, which could be associated with the inflammatory responses.
Related Concept Videos
Methods of reducing fever
Pharmacological Methods of Reducing Fever:
Decreased Body Temperature
Increased Body Temperature
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation IV: Pharmacological Management

