In Phoenix Heat, Ice-Filled Body Bags Are a Life-Saving Technology
At least two hospitals in Arizona’s Maricopa County are employing a novel method for cooling core body temperatures.
Phoenix firefighters treat a man having trouble breathing during a heat wave on July 20.
Photographer: Caitlin O'Hara/BloombergAs temperatures hit 119F in Phoenix last Thursday, doctors at Valleywise Health Medical Center saw a patient whose internal temperature was at least 110F — the maximum registered by its thermometers.
Needing to cool the patient down as quickly as possible, the emergency medical team turned to a technique they had designed and honed themselves: immersing the person in a body bag filled with ice. It worked. In less than half an hour, the patient’s temperature was down to about 102F, low enough to move on to further treatment and observation. The next day, the medical team had to pull out a new body bag.