One night in a snowbank: a case report of severe hypothermia and cardiac arrest.

Abstract

Hypothermia < 28 degrees C is rarely compatible with life, with only a few cases described surviving such low temperatures. We present a case of a man who survived with a core body temperature below 21.0 degrees C after spending a night in a snowbank with an ambient temperatures as low as -20.0 degrees C. Prolonged CPR and early initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation enabled survival without neurological deficit at hospital discharge. Frostbite was limited to both hands and all toes only; although the entire upper and lower extremity appeared to be deeply frozen on admission, amputation of both hands was inevitable and resulted in permanent disability.