Prompt Cast
Therapeutic Hypothermia: A Cold Treatment for Better Recovery
TLDR Therapeutic hypothermia, also known as medically induced hypothermia, is a treatment that involves lowering the body temperature to increase chances of survival before and after surgery. It can prevent further damage from incidents like strokes or cardiac arrest and has been shown to have a significant impact on recovery rates for patients with cardiac arrest.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Therapeutic hypothermia, also known as medically induced hypothermia or targeted temperature management, is the topic of discussion in this episode of "Stuff You Should Know."
04:43
Therapeutic hypothermia has been around since the Napoleonic Wars, when it was observed that soldiers left out in the cold fared better than those kept warm, and further investigation into the use of therapeutic hypothermia began in the 1930s and 1940s.
09:36
Hypothermia can preserve the body and prevent death in extreme situations, as demonstrated by the case of a woman who fell into a frozen stream and was submerged for 80 minutes but fully recovered after being reheated.
14:36
Therapeutic hypothermia involves lowering the body temperature to increase chances of survival before and after surgery by slowing down the metabolic rate and reducing the demand for things like blood flow and neurotransmitter action.
20:16
Medically induced hypothermia can be used both as a preventative measure to extend operating time and as an intervention to prevent further damage from incidents like strokes or cardiac arrest.
24:56
Medically induced hypothermia can prevent the release of glutamate and the subsequent damage to neurons, as well as reduce inflammation and swelling in the brain after a heart attack or cardiac arrest.
30:03
Therapeutic hypothermia involves three stages: induction, maintenance, and rewarming, all of which must be carefully monitored and done correctly to prevent shivering, slow the metabolic rate, and avoid ice crystal formation.
34:41
Animals that hibernate have the ability to make their red blood cells disappear and then reappear, and can also remove white blood cells from their blood and store them in the lymph nodes, which could have significant implications for humans if we can figure out how to replicate these processes.
39:32
Humans may have more of an ability to hibernate than previously thought, as demonstrated by the case of a Japanese man who was found in a state of hibernation after being exposed to cold temperatures for 24 days.
44:19
Medically induced hypothermia buys time for the body to heal itself or for surgeons to operate on patients with severe injuries, and researchers are working on a method called emergency preservation and resuscitation that involves flushing the body with freezing cold saline solution to put patients into severe hypothermia or suspended animation, which has been successful in experiments on dogs and pigs.
49:16
Medically induced hypothermia has been shown to have a significant impact on recovery rates for patients with cardiac arrest, with studies demonstrating a 25-50% higher chance of recovery when the cold treatment is used.
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