Rewarming After Severe Accidental Hypothermia Using the Esophageal Heat Transfer Device: A Case Report

Patients with severe accidental hypothermia require active rewarming. External rewarming may not be successful in severe hypothermia, and use of invasive techniques is limited to regional centers and is associated with vascular access site and other complications. We present a patient with severe accidental hypothermia who was successfuly rewarmed using a novel esophageal heat transfer device. A 55-year-old male (175 cm, 71 kg) was admitted with the first recorded temperature 23.3°C. Rewarming using renal replacement therapy circuit was unsuccessful because of severe hypotension. We inserted the esophageal heat transfer device and rewarmed him successfully to target temperature 35–36°C. After rewarming, we maintained his body temperature in the range 35–36°C until accidental removal of the device. We observed no major adverse effects. To conclude, rewarming from severe accidental hypothermia was possible using the esophageal heat transfer device.