Published in:
01-03-2013 | Commentary
Wischnewski spots and hypothermia: sensitive, specific, or serendipitous?
Authors:
Fiona Bright, Calle Winskog, Roger W. Byard
Published in:
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
|
Issue 1/2013
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Excerpt
Hypothermia develops when regulatory mechanisms such as vasoconstriction and heat production fail to compensate for heat loss to the environment and the core temperature of the body falls below 35 °C. Severe cases may be fatal with death resulting from myocardial ischemia and/or hypoxia, exacerbated by electrolyte abnormalities and elevated catecholamine levels. The mortality rate exceeds 70 % when the core temperature drops to 30 °C, and reaches 90 % at 26 °C [
1,
2]. …