Commentary and conceptsThermodynamic aspects of therapeutic hypothermia

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is an important treatment for post-cardiac arrest syndrome. Despite its widespread practice, only limited data describe the thermodynamic aspects of heat transfer during TH. This paper reviews the principles of human body heat balance and provides a conceptual model for characterizing heat exchange during TH. The model may provide a framework for computer simulation for improving training in or clinical methods of TH.