The value of laboratory tests in hypothermia.

The biochemical changes which have been reported during and after hypothermia for cardiac surgery, and on which the literature is now considerable, are similar in man to those already found in animals. However, there are comparatively few references in the literature to investigations carried out in neurosurgical units, those of Gunton, Scott, Lougheed, and Botterell (1956) and Gray (1957) being the more comprehensive. The aim of the present investigation has therefore been to decide whether there are changes in the biochemistry in cranial as compared with cardiac surgery, what screening tests, if any, should be carried out in patients in whom hypothermia is indicated, and if any useful purpose is served by following up those cases with a view to anticipating any of the. recognized or theoretical complications, to which reference will be made later.