Acute Medicine | Medicine of the elderly | Causes and symptoms of hypothermia

Causes and Symptoms of Hypothermia
Session Overview
Description
This session explains the pathophysiology and aetiology of hypothermia in adult patients and the way they present.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Recognise the causes and predisposing factors in hypothermia and describe the clinical presentation of a hypothermic patient

Hypothermia is defined by a core temperature of less than 35 ºC and is arbitrarily categorised according to the body temperature as:

• Mild 32-35 ºC
• Moderate 30-32 ºC
• Severe <30 ºC

It is important to use a special low-reading rectal or oesophageal thermometer for measuring temperature.