Hyperthermia

Abstract

An elevation in core body temperature due to thermoregulatory failure with a normal thermoregulatory set point is called hyperthermia. Globally, the most common heat illnesses are heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and these are major causes of morbidity and mortality. These illnesses represent a continuum of disease ranging from mild (heat exhaustion) to total (heat stroke) failure of thermoregulation. Heat exhaustion is characterized by sweating, muscle cramps, fatigue, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, and fainting. These symptoms may also occur in heat stroke but, in addition, neurological signs such as confusion, seizures, and coma predominate. While the diagnosis of these conditions may be straightforward, hyperthermia may complicate a variety of rarer illnesses, including neuroleptic malignant syndrome and drug-induced hyperthermia.