What are the precautions for using hypothermia therapy device?

I call the hypothermia therapy device a cooling blanket, ice blanket, ice cap, or temperature control blanket. The hypothermia therapy device is composed of a main unit and peripheral accessories. The main unit has a refrigeration system, a temperature control system, and a water circulation control system. A mild hypothermia therapy device is also known as a cooling blanket. When a patient has a high fever, it will affect the body and damage the nervous system. At this time, a cooling blanket can be used for hypothermia treatment to improve the temperature. Let's take a look at the precautions for hypothermia therapy.

1. Concept

A body temperature between 28 ℃ – 35 ℃ is called mild hypothermia. Hypothermia therapy is a method of physically lowering the patient's body temperature to the desired level in order to achieve the purpose of treating the disease. The application and research of clinical deep hypothermia therapy has a long history. Hypothermia has been widely used in cardiac surgery and neurosurgery, and has achieved good brain protection. However, when the body temperature is lower than 28°C, it often induces serious complications such as arrhythmias and coagulation disorders. Therefore, since the 1980s, deep hypothermia has been rarely used. In the late 1980s, studies found that a drop in brain temperature of 2 to 3°C (mild hypothermia) also has a protective effect on ischemic brain damage, and is free of the various complications caused by deep hypothermia, which has rekindled people's interest in hypothermia therapy. In recent years, foreign countries have taken the lead in using mild hypothermia (30-35℃) to treat patients with cerebral ischemia, cerebral hypoxia and cerebral hemorrhage, and have achieved impressive research results. In 1996, Metz used an ice blanket to cool the body surface of a group of patients with severe craniocerebral trauma. As a result, 7 out of 10 cases recovered to their normal state before injury. He believed that hypothermia (32.5-35℃) can reduce intracranial pressure; in the same year, Reith found in clinical observation of 390 stroke patients that timely lowering of body temperature after stroke can help reduce mortality.

2. Mechanism of action

Studies have found that mild hypothermia regulates cerebral blood flow, reduces brain oxygen metabolism rate and improves cellular energy metabolism, reduces the release of excitatory amino acids, reduces the generation of oxygen free radicals, reduces intracellular calcium overload, increases the synthesis of neuronal ubiquitin, reduces neuronal necrosis and apoptosis, promotes the recovery of intercellular signal transduction, reduces the area of ​​cerebral infarction, reduces cerebral edema and reduces intracranial pressure. The study also found that low temperature has no effect on blood pressure, blood oxygen partial pressure, carbon dioxide partial pressure, blood pH and blood sugar, and no pathological damage was found to the heart, lungs, kidneys and small intestine of experimental animals, indicating that low temperature does not increase damage to other tissues and organs.

3. Scope of application

Clinically applicable departments: Neurosurgery - the first department to use cooling blankets. The patients who use it most are those with head trauma, some patients after cranial and brain surgery or those with central fever; ICU - various patients with fever or patients after cardiac resuscitation; Neurology - patients with cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction; Emergency Department - various patients with fever and heat stroke; Anesthesiology - patients who need temperature control during surgery, such as hypothermic anesthesia; Cardiothoracic Surgery - mostly used for rewarming after extracorporeal circulation; Respiratory Medicine - all patients with fever to be investigated in the internal medicine system are managed by the Respiratory Medicine Department; Hematology - there are more patients with fever, and hormones are usually used. Physical cooling with a cooling blanket is a better method; Pediatrics - during the development of the central nervous system of children, the development of inhibitory neurons lags behind that of excitatory neurons significantly. Therefore, children with fever often experience high fever or febrile convulsions, and cooling blankets are essential equipment in pediatrics.

4. Product composition

Hypothermia therapy device, also known as cooling blanket, ice blanket, ice cap, temperature control blanket, etc., is generally composed of two parts: the main unit and peripheral accessories. The main unit includes refrigeration system, temperature control system and water circulation control system. Peripheral accessories include water blanket, connecting pipe, body temperature sensor

5. Working Principle

The compressor or semiconductor provides a cold source to cool the water in the water tank. The temperature control system controls the water temperature required for clinical use, and then the water is output to the water blanket for circulation through the water circulation system. The water blanket is in contact with the patient's body, and the temperature difference is used to control the patient's body temperature, creating a sub-hypothermia environment.