Aviat Space Envir Md
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Aviat Space Envir Md · May 1996
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialHypercapnia lowers the shivering threshold and increases core cooling rate in humans.
Hypercapnia, which may be encountered during diving operations or by patients under general anesthesia with spontaneous respiration, alters the basic thermoregulatory responses of animals and humans. In cold-exposed animals, 3-10% inspired CO2 impairs thermal homeostasis by attenuating shivering and promoting heat loss through peripheral vasodilation. Experimental results with humans are equivocal. ⋯ Therefore, hypercapnia enhances the core cooling rate during mild cold stress. This may be attributed in part to a delay in shivering onset, as well as increased respiratory heat loss during hypercapnic hyperventilation.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · May 1996
Alcohol elimination and simulator performance of male and female aviators: a preliminary report.
In this preliminary study of alcohol effects on aviators' flight simulator performance, we addressed some methodological issues regarding possible gender-related differences in response to alcohol. ⋯ A 12.5% dose reduction for women appears to be adequate for achieving comparable peak BAC's for male and female groups. Future studies using measures of circadian rhythmicity in conjunction with pharmacokinetic and performance measures could potentially shed light on differences in subjects' acute and delayed responses to alcohol.