Over recent times, many severely -ill patients with circulatory arrest have been promptly pulled back from the brink of death by Da Nang doctors through the lowering of their body temperature. This is the so-called cooling, also known as therapeutic hypothermia, a new technique successfully deployed in many advanced countries worldwide.

The 19 year-old patient from neighbouring Quang Nam Province’s Dien Ban Town was saved by the Da Nang doctors by the application of lowering his body temperature.

Doctors from the Da Nang General Hospital, the largest of its kind in the city, has recently saved a 19 year-old patient, a resident of neighbouring Quang Nam Province’s Dien Ban Town, by resorting to the so-called cooling techniques. The male patient went down with a cardiac arrest after having electrocuted at work.

Upon his arrival to the hospital, the unfortunate patient fell into a deep coma, being at risk of brain damage and very susceptible to neurologic sequelae, lethargic lethargy, and persistent vegetative state.In a prompt fashion, doctors from Critical Care Unit of the hospital decided to apply the cooling technology to protect the patient's brain.

“We lowered the patient's temperature to 33° C, then put the patient in a ‘hibernation’ state for 24 hours. Thereafter, the patient’s body temperature was gradually raised by 0.15° C per hour until it reached its normality. Over six days of intensive treatment, the patient has been discharged from the hospital following a tremendous recovery”, said a doctor.

According to medical experts, there are external and internal cooling methods used to lower body temperature. Methods for cooling the body include use of chilled intravenous fluids and special vests and other pieces of clothing.

People who are left unconscious after their heart suddenly stops should be cooled in an effort to preserve brain function, according to the American Academy of Neurology.

Reducing a comatose person’s body temperature down to 32 to 34 degrees Celsius (C) - about 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit (F) - for 24 hours after rescuing them from cardiac arrest is highly likely to improve brain outcomes.

As for why cooling the body is beneficial after cardiac arrest, doctor Ha Son Binh, who is in charge of the Anti-Poison Active Recovery Department, explained, cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. As a result, oxygen-rich blood stops flowing to the brain, and brain tissue begins to die. The heart may recover, but the brain may be badly damaged. Therefore, lowering the body temperature after cardiac arrest should be the standard of care because it improved neurological outcomes.

Many patients who are admitted to his unit and are in urgent need of this technique are in a critical condition with very high mortality rate is very high. It can be said that the hospital has successfully implemented the cooling method to bring patients with cardiac back to life without leaving any neurological sequelae.

By PHAN CHUNG- Translated by A.T