Effect of Wet Clothing Removal Compared to Use of a Vapor Barrier in Accidental Hypothermia

NCT05996757 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 2017/150
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 8
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The optimal method of prehospital insulation and rewarming of hypothermic patients have been subject of debate, and there is a substantial lack og high-quality evidence to guide providers. One question concerns whether or not the patients clothing should be removed prior to being wrapped in an insulating model with a vapor barrier. Evaporative heat loss is one of four mechanisms of heat loss, and preventing evaporative heat loss should be a prioritized task for providers. Removal of wet clothing usually means subjecting the patient to the environment, but will reduce the evaporative heat loss considerably. An other alternative is to encapsulate the patient in a vapor barrier. Evaporative heat loss will stop when the humidity inside the vapor barrier reaches 100%. We aim to investigate whether it is recommended to removed wet clothing or encase the patient in a vapor barrier.

Conditions

Accidental Hypothermia; Emergencies

Keywords

Accidental hypothermia; Mountain Medicine

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Mean skin temperature

  Change in mean skin temperature during rewarming phase

  60 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Subjective thermal comfort and shivering

  60 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Wet clothing removal

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Procedure: Wet clothing removal

Vapor barrier

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Wet clothing removal PROCEDURE

The participants in the intervention group will have their clothing removed prior to insulation.

Wet clothing removal

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age \<18
• American Society of Anaesthesiologists class 1
• No nicotine use

You may not qualify if:

• Acute illness on study day, fever or malaise

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Haukeland University Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Haukeland University Hospital

Bergen, Norway

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Henriksson O, Lundgren PJ, Kuklane K, Holmer I, Giesbrecht GG, Naredi P, Bjornstig U. Protection against cold in prehospital care: wet clothing removal or addition of a vapor barrier. Wilderness Environ Med. 2015 Mar;26(1):11-20. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2014.07.001.

  PMID: 25712295 RESULT

• Hagen LT, Brattebo G, Dipl-Math JA, Wiggen O, Osteras O, Mydske S, Thomassen O. Effect of wet clothing removal on skin temperature in subjects exposed to cold and wrapped in a vapor barrier: a human, randomized, crossover field study. BMC Emerg Med. 2024 Jan 25;24(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12873-024-00937-8.

  PMID: 38273259 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Hypothermia; Emergencies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Body Temperature Changes; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes

Study Officials

• Øyvind Thomassen, MD, PhD

  Haukeland University Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 10, 2023
• First Posted: August 18, 2023
• Study Start: March 20, 2017
• Primary Completion: March 21, 2017
• Study Completion: March 21, 2017
• Last Updated: August 18, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

NO (1)