A case of hypothermia with significant Osborn Wave: a forgotten electrocardiographic finding

Abstract

Hypothermia is generally defined as the body's internal temperature below 35 °C. Hypothermia is classified as primer and secondary hypothermia according to its mechanism, and as mild (32 to 35 °C), moderate (32-28 °C) and severe (below 28°C) hypothermia according to body temperature. The characteristic electrocardiographic finding of the hypothermia is the Osborn (j) wave, which is manifested as a small positive deflection wave (late delta wave) at the junction corresponding to the end of the QRS complex and the beginning of the ST segment in two consecutive beats. In this article, we aimed to present a case of 68-year-old man, who was found in cold weather, having lost consciousness and hypothermia, and whose electrocardiogram showed an Osborn wave which was resolved with the increase of body temperature. [Med-Science 2017; 6(4.000): 764-766]

Keywords

• Hypothermia
• electrocardiography
• Osborn Wave