Fighting Fire with Ice: A Multisite Collaboration to Evaluate the Impact of Prehospital Cold Water Immersion on Heat Stroke Patients
A prehospital CWI protocol is feasible in a large urban EMS system and provides rapid temperature reduction and improved neurologic status in patients with heat stroke. The findings suggest a meaningful clinical benefit and broad operational feasibility. Further prospective, multicenter studies are needed to define the resulting impact, optimize workflows, and guide wider adoption of prehospital immersion cooling.
Authors
- Jerry W. Snow
- A Narang
- Paul Pugsley
- Michelle Sandoval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7148-6488)
- Jeffrey R. Stowell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7401-6115)
- Lora Nordstrom
- Geoffrey Comp
- Charles Finch
- David Kirk
- Matthew Kamer
- Narda Aldaco
- Grace Patel
- Maki Lloyd
- Alexandria Foster
- Kristina Kupanoff
- B Witkind Koenig
Institutions
- Creighton University (US)
- Naval Medical Center San Diego (US)
- New York City Fire Department (US)
- Naval Medical Research Command (US)
- St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- University of Phoenix (US)
- Health Net (US)
- Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix (US)
- Valley Medical Center (US)
- Banner Life Sciences (United States) (US)
- Healthwise (US)
- Department of Education and Training (AU)
- St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma (US)
- Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (US)
- St. Joseph Medical Center (US)
- Phoenix College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Prehospital Emergency Care
- Published
- 2026-03-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2026.2636148
- Primary Topic
- Thermal Regulation in Medicine
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00