Context: Recommended treatment for exertional heat stroke includes whole-body cold-water immersion (CWI). However, remote locations or monetary or spatial restrictions can challenge the feasibility of CWI. Thus, the development of a modified, portable CWI method would allow for optimal treatment of exertional heat stroke in the presence of these challenges.Objective: To determine the cooling rate of modified CWI (tarp-assisted cooling with oscillation [TACO]) after exertional hyperthermia.Design: Randomized, crossover controlled trial. Setting: Environmental chamber (temperature ¼ 33.48C 6 0.88C, relative humidity ¼ 55.7% 6 1.9%).Patients or Other Participants: Sixteen volunteers (9 men, 7 women; age ¼ 26 6 4.7 years, height ¼ 1.76 6 0.09 m, mass ¼ 72.5 6 9.0 kg, body fat ¼ 20.7% 6 7.1%) with no history of compromised thermoregulation.Intervention(s): Participants completed volitional exercise (cycling or treadmill) until they demonstrated a rectal temperature (T re ) !39.08C. After exercise, participants transitioned to a semirecumbent position on a tarp until either T re reached 38.18C or 15 minutes had elapsed during the control (no immersion [CON]) or TACO (immersion in 151 L of 2.18C 6 0.88C water) treatment.Main Outcome Measure(s): The T re , heart rate, and blood pressure (reported as mean arterial pressure) were assessed precooling and postcooling. Statistical analyses included repeated-measures analysis of variance with appropriate post hoc t tests and Bonferroni correction.Results: Before cooling, the T re was not different between conditions (CON: 39.278C 6 0.268C, TACO: 39.308C 6 0.398C; P ¼ .62; effect size ¼À0.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] ¼À0.2, 0.1). At postcooling, the T re was decreased in the TACO (38.108C 6 0.168C) compared with the CON condition (38.748C 6 0.388C; P , .001; effect size ¼ 2.27; 95% CI ¼ 0.4, 0.9). The rate of cooling was greater during the TACO (0.14 6 0.068C/ min) than the CON treatment (0.048C/min 6 0.028C/min; t 15 ¼ À8.84; P , .001; effect size ¼ 2.21; 95% CI ¼ À0.13, À0.08). These differences occurred despite an insignificant increase in fluid consumption during exercise preceding CON (0.26 6 0.29 L) versus TACO (0.19 6 0.26 L; t 12 ¼ 1.73; P ¼ .11; effect size ¼ 0.48; 95% CI ¼ À0.02, 0.14) treatment. Decreases in heart rate did not differ between the TACO and CON conditions (t 15 ¼ À1.81; P ¼ .09; effect size ¼ 0.45; 95% CI ¼ À22, 2). Mean arterial pressure was greater at postcooling with TACO (84.2 6 6.6 mm Hg) than with CON (67.0 6 9.0 mm Hg; P , .001; effect size ¼ 2.25; 95% CI ¼ 13, 21).Conclusions: The TACO treatment provided faster cooling than did the CON treatment. When location, monetary, or spatial restrictions are present, TACO represents an effective alternative to traditional CWI in the emergency treatment of patients with exertional hyperthermia.
The primary finding was that hypohydration modestly attenuates the rate of cooling in exertionally hyperthermic individuals. Regardless of hydration status, the cooling efficacy of CWI was preserved and should continue to be utilized in the treatment of exertional hyperthermia.
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