Accidental profound hypothermia.

A 3-year-old boy who had been exposed for at least 15 hours in an air temperature of approximately 0°C, was found to have a rectal temperature of 17°C about 20 minutes after he arrived at the hospital. He was rewarmed to 34°C in a bath of water at a temperature of 37-38°C during a period of 2 hours 15 minutes. He was also given large amounts of intravenous bicarbonate at the same time. Complications during rewarming consisted of transient arrhythmias, and the insignificant neurological changes disappeared after approximately 2 months. At examination 6 months after the exposure no residual defects could be demonstrated.