In things that you thought only happened at Seattle’s Grace Hospital, medical professional magicians at a London hospital recently drastically dropped a baby’s core temperature for four days to save his life. Dude. Science. Right?
The boy was born with a condition called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which causes the heart to beat 300 times per minute (double the normal rate of 160). People born with SVT only have a five percent chance of survival, but thanks to the straight boss moves of docs at University College London Hospital, it looks like the boy will survive. Damn.
The pioneering treatment involved wrapping the boy in a blanket of cold gel so that his body temperature dropped from 37C (98.6F) to 33.3C (91.94F) and slowed his metabolism. They kept this going for four days, until his heart rate eventually slowed to a normal rate. They gradually raised the temperature, and his heart remained stable.
The boy is now six months old, and according to his mom, he’s doing great. Of course, in a few years we’ll realize he’s The Flash. Godspeed, little superhero.
[Telegraph]
Image via Africa Studio / Shutterstock.
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