Successful Defibrillation at a Core Temperature of 18.2 Degrees Celsius

Both the temperature at which defibrillation can be effectively used and how often it should be repeated in severe accidental hypothermia have not been delinitely established. Current recommendations are based mainly on expert opinion and suggest withholding defibrillation after 3 shocks when the core temperature is below 30 degrees C (86 degrees F). However, growing evidence supports the effectiveness of defibrillation in patients with a core temperature below 30 degrees C (86 degrees F). We present a case of successful defibrillation of a 54-y-old, severely hypothermic patient with a core temperature of 18.2 degrees C (64.8 degrees F). The shock was delivered automatically by an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator shortly after the implementation of extracorporeal rewarming. The patient survived and was discharged from the hospital neurologically intact. It might be reasonable to consider defibrillation attempts in severely hypothermic patients despite current guidelines to the contrary. Increasing coronary perfusion using extracorporeal circulation may result in a better response to defibrillation.