ABSTRACT
Heat stroke is a critical and health-threatening disease, triggered by thermal stimulus and progressing rapidly. It can give rise to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), resulting in a high mortality rate. Nearly 30% of survivors will suffer with different sequelae, for instance, the neurological sequelae. Currently, the early rapid cooling is the focus of therapy for heat stroke. Therefore, it is imperative to design a cooling module suitable for the treatment of heat stroke in the field and in the hospital to realize the goal of early rapid cooling and the effective targeted temperature management (TTM). The cooling device is composed of a cooling blanket and a cooling cap. The blanket and cap are made by temperature changeable fabric. The cooling blanket comprises a backing layer, a buffer layer, a flexible heat conduction capsule body, a temperature changing component, a fixed part and a temperature sensor. The cooling cap includes a main body and two side ears, in which the main body is worn on the top of the patient's head, and the front is equipped with a flexible display screen, which is convenient for real-time monitoring the temperature of the temperature change component of the cooling blanket. The lateral ear can wrap the patient's ears and neck, and the tympanic membrane thermometer is designed to monitor the tympanic membrane temperature in real time. The tympanic membrane thermometer is also designed at the ear to monitor the tympanic auditory canal temperatures in real time.Continuous dynamic temperature monitoring can guide the duration of cooling treatment and stop cooling in time. The cooling component is portable, easy to operate, real-time temperature monitoring, excellent cooling effect and reusable. It is used for on-site first aid, transportation and continuous cooling for patients with heat stroke in the ward.
ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the cerebral protective effect of mild hypothermia by semiconductor cooling device on the liver surface in rabbits after cardiac arrest (CA). Methods Eighteen healthy male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly and equally divided into CA control group, ice saline group and semiconductor group. CA was induced by rapid intravenous injection of potassium chloride. Five minutes after onset of CA, CPR was initiated. Compared to the control group, which was not treated by hypothermia intervention after CPR, the ice saline group was treated by 4 ℃ ice saline infusion and the semiconductor group was treated by the semiconductor refrigeration piece device cooling on the liver surface for hypothermia intervention after CPR. We recorded the changes of temperature (tympanic temperature and anus temperature), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) of rabbits in each group, neurological deficit scores (NDS) at 24, 48, 72 hours after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and the changes of serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pathological changes of the hippocampus tissue, liver tissue and skin tissue were obtained by HE staining. Results There was no significant difference in ROSC time in each group. Two rabbits died at 55 hours and 67 hours after ROSC respectively in the control group. The remaining rabbits survived to 72 hours after challenge. There was no significant difference in the overall survival time in groups. Two hypothermia intervention groups had significantly lower level of serum NSE at 24 hours after ROSC and lower DNS scores at 24, 48, 72 hours after ROSC than control group. And the level of serum NSE after 24 hours of ROSC in the semiconductor group were significantly lower than the ice saline group (μg/L: 6.916±1.161 vs. 8.615±1.430, P < 0.05). DNS scores at 24, 48, 72 hours after ROSC in the semiconductor group were all significantly lower than the ice saline group (scores: 1.33±0.52 vs. 2.00±0.01, 1.01±0.41 vs. 2.00±0.01, 0.92±0.40 vs. 2.10±0.52 respectively, all P < 0.05). Two hypothermia intervention groups had more minor damage of neuronal cell in hippocampus than the control group. And the semiconductor group had more minor damage than the ice saline group. There were no obvious hepatic and subcutaneous tissue injury through which the semiconductor induced hypothermia was performed at corresponding liver surface skin. Conclusion The hypothermia by semiconductor cooling device on the liver surface is a new safe way of protecting brain tissue after CA, which has better cerebral protective effect than ice saline infusion.
ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate exertional overheating and endurance during and after physical exercise on individuals with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia(HED) ,to assess protective effects of skin cooling device ,and to provide theoretical basis for ex-ternal cooling devices .Methods 12 HED patients and 12 age-matched healthy controls were studied during standardized exercise on a treadmill at ambient temperatures of 25 ℃ and 30 ℃ .Body core temperature ,performance ,heart rate ,respiratory rate ,blood pres-sure and serum lactate were investigated during and after exercise .Results HED subjects experienced a significantly greater rise in body temperature after cycling than healthy controls ,and their body temperature remained elevated longer(P<0 .05) .HED subjects had a lower endurance time(F=9 .985 ,P=0 .005) and increasing speed value(F=7 .158 ,P=0 .014) .However ,serum lactate value of the HED subjects found to be higher than the controls (F=5 .204 ,P=0 .033) .Maximum heart rates ,respiratory rate and blood pressure did not differ significantly between HED and the control groups .However ,compared with controls ,body temperature and endurance time of HED patients equipped with skin cooling device had no statistical significance .Conclusion HED subjects showed a significantly greater rise of body temperature during exercise than the control groups ,and their body temperature remained elevat-ed longer than in healthy subjects ,and had a lower performance .External evaporative skin cooling attenuates exertional overheating in HED patients and may facilitate their participation in athletic activities and professional life .
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The current modality of choice for the treatment of Port-wine stains (PWS) is laser photocoagulation. Laser therapy for the treatment of PWS, especially with a pulsed dye laser (PDL), has been proven safe and effective; however, because penetration of the PDL is too shallow for an effective ablation of the blebs, treatment of blebbed PWS, using PDL, may be insufficient. OBJECTIVE: We demonstrated the clinical efficacy of a 1,064 nm long pulsed Nd:YAG laser with contact cooling device for blebbed PWS. METHODS: Twenty one patients with blebbed PWS (Fitzpatrick skin types II-V) underwent a treatment, using a 1,064 nm long pulsed Nd:YAG laser with a contact cooling device at 8-week intervals. Treatments were done using 5~6 mm spot sizes at 20~30 ms and 95~170 J/cm2. Laser parameters were adjusted in order to meet the needs of each individual patient's lesions. RESULTS: All subjects tolerated the treatments well, and showed clinical improvement from blebs. Of the 21 patients, 18 of them experienced either moderate or excellent response. CONCLUSION: Use of a 1,064 nm long pulsed Nd:YAG laser results in a greater depth of vascular coagulation. A 1,064 nm long pulsed Nd:YAG laser with contact cooling device may be regarded as a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of blebbed PWS.