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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Although the distinctions among mild, moderate, and severe hypothermia are not often clear, a somewhat constant sequence of events occurs as core body temperatures continue to decline.

• At temperatures below 95 F (35 C), shivering is seen. Heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure increase.
• As the temperature drops further, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure all decrease. People may experience some clumsiness, apathy, confusion, and slurred speech.
• As core temperature drops lower than 89.9 F (32.2 C), shivering stops and oxygen consumption begins to drop. The victim may be in a stupor. The heart rhythm may become irregular.
• At temperatures below 82.4 F (28 C), reflexes are lost and cardiac output continues to fall. The risk of dangerously irregular heart rhythms increases, and brain activity is seriously slowed. The pupils are dilated, and the victim appears comatose or dead.

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