Synchronized Cardioversion Performed During Cold Water Immersion of a Heatstroke Patient

Abstract

We report a case of cardioversion that was successfully performed on a patient during cold water immersion. The patient deteriorated into unstable ventricular tachycardia while being treated for heatstroke. We elected to perform synchronized cardioversion without first removing the patient from the immersion body bag. The patient survived and was discharged neurologically intact on hospital day 5. There were no evident deleterious effects to the staff, the patient, or the equipment. To our knowledge, this is the first case report in the literature demonstrating the electrical cardioversion of a patient immersed in water.