Spontaneous periodic hypothermia
Overview
Spontaneous periodic hypothermia: A rare disorder characterized by recurring periods of hypothermia that occur for no obvious reason.
Symptoms
* Coldness * Sweating * Dilation of blood vessels * Vomiting * Slowed heart rate
Causes
* Exposure –Alcohol intake is a common risk factor because it both alters thermoregulation and promotes risk-taking behavior –Shivering, amnesia, ataxia, and dysarthria occur with mild hypothermia (>89.6°F, or >32°C) –Stupor, absence of shivering, atrial fibrillation, and/or bradycardia occur with moderate hypothermia (82–90°F, or 28–32°C) –Coma, ventricular fibrillation, apnea, asystole, and/or areflexia occur with severe hypothermia (
Diagnosis
* Home Pregnancy Tests o Home Early Pregnancy Tests o Home Ovulation Tests o Home Fertility Tests o Home Rhesus/RH Blood Type Tests o Home Fetal Tests * Vaginal Health: Home Testing: o Home Vaginal Infection Tests o Home Vaginal PH Tests o Home Yeast Infection Tests o Home Candida Kits o Home Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Tests o Home Bladder Tests
Treatment
* No person is dead until they are warm and dead”—this underscores the ability to resuscitate patients from profound hypothermia * Exposure is treated by passive rewarming to prevent further heat loss (e.g., remove wet clothes, cover with blankets), active external rewarming (e.g., radiant warmers, heating blankets), and/or active core rewarming (e.g., warmed IV fluids, pleural lavage, cardiopulmonary bypass, dialysis) * Hypothyroidism: Treat mild cases with levothyroxine, myxedema coma with IV thyroxine and IV hydrocortisone * Sepsis: Administer appropriate antibiotics, vasopressors for hypotension, and fluids for resuscitation * Shock: Volume expansion with crystalloid solutions (normal saline or lactated Ringer's) or blood products; vasopressors (e.g., norepinephrine, phenylephrine); positive inotropes (e.g., dopamine, dobutamine)