Citation

Goforth CW, Kazman JB. Crit. Care Nurse 2015; 35(1): 52-59.

Affiliation

Carl Goforth is the clinical subject matter expert for the Marine Corps Combat Development Command located in Quantico, Virginia. He has more than 20 years of combined Navy and Marine service and has deployed as a critical care and flight nurse attached to US Marine units overseas.Josh Kazman is a research associate with the Consortium for Health and Military Performance at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He has worked on a variety of projects and publications related to health disparities, heat tolerance, cardiovascular disease, and injury prevention.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Association of Critical Care Nurses)

DOI

10.4037/ccn2015257

PMID

25639577

Abstract

Although exertional heat stroke is considered a preventable condition, this life-threatening emergency affects hundreds of military personnel annually. Because heat stroke is preventable, it is important that Navy critical care nurses rapidly recognize and treat heat stroke casualties. Combined intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors can quickly lead to heat stroke if not recognized by deployed critical care nurses and other first responders. In addition to initial critical care nursing interventions, such as establishing intravenous access, determining body core temperature, and assessing hemodynamic status, aggressive cooling measures should be initiated immediately. The most important determinant in heat stroke outcome is the amount of time that patients sustain hyperthermia. Heat stroke survival approaches 100% when evidence-based cooling guidelines are followed, but mortality from heat stroke is a significant risk when care is delayed. Navy critical care and other military nurses should be aware of targeted assessments and cooling interventions when heat stroke is suspected during military operations. (Critical Care Nurse. 2015;35[1]:52-59).

Language: en