Wet clothes should be carefully stripped. They should be well covered and insulated. They should shell be transported as rapidly as possible to definitive medical care. Positive pressure ventilation is advised but chest compression is not. Such compressions may convert sinus bradycardia to ventricular fibrillation.
Field rewarming procedures for the comatose individual are time consuming.
If possible, it is better to move the casualty to a nearby medical facility. A heated, humidified oxygen rewarming device, if available, may be effective, but is certainly not a major method of heat input for the comatose hypothermic victim. Management throughout the evacuation chain involves improving cardiac output, decreasing blood viscosity, adding heat to the core, improving acid-base balance, and the hyperkalemia. Treatment of imbalances in these parameters depends on the level of sophistication at each treatment site. Hospital management should include active core rewarming utilizing peritoneal dialysis, arterio-venous shunts, or peripheral rewarming involving torso water immersion.