Frostbite Immersion Rewarming Methods: Sink & Faucet vs Bucket vs Immersion Circulator

Frostbite can lead to cellular damage, vascular injury, and an altered functional status. Current rapid rewarming methods are unreliable at maintaining water temperature between the gold standard range of 37{degrees}C and 39{degrees}C. However, immersion circulators can precisely maintain this temperature range throughout rewarming, potentially leading to better patient outcomes following frostbite injury. In-vitro rewarming trials were conducted using frozen wild boar (Sus scrofa) legs to evaluate 3 rewarming methods: sink and faucet, bucket, and immersion circulator. Porcine leg temperature and water temperature were measured every minute over the 30 minute duration of each trial. The immersion circulator method proved to be the most efficient at reaching the target tissue temperature (9 minutes) while maintaining the least variability in water temperature (0% of time spent below 37{degrees}C). Our study concludes that the immersion circulator method is superior to other methods as it achieves faster and more consistent rewarming. This method has the potential to enhance frostbite treatment protocols, particularly in clinical and field settings where consistent rewarming is difficult to achieve.