Accidental hypothermia.

Accidental hypothermia has produced many cases of intact survival even after prolonged cardiac arrest, but it is also often fatal. In recent years, alterations in resuscitation care that sometimes confused or discouraged resuscitation teams have largely been supplanted by an emphasis on safe, rapid, effective rewarming. Rewarming decisions and even the simple recognition of hypothermia remain challenging. This review seeks to update and demystify some of these challenges.