Suspected exertional heat stroke: A case study of worker cooling in a hot and humid field environment.

This describes a single worker, so it cannot show what usually happens in field heat stroke. Rectal temperature was not measured, so core temperature and cooling rate are unknown. The diagnosis relied on observed signs and a reported hospital diagnosis, not measured core temperature. The paramedic comment that cooling prevented serious harm was reported by a colleague, not directly recorded. Ice towels were used alongside emergency medical care, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The organization trained workers and supplied kits, so the event may depend on those supports. The setting was an Australian electrical distribution field environment, so it may not apply to other workplaces or clinical populations.

S.R. is an employee of the organization in which the case occurred. M.B. is managing director of Thermal Hyperformance Pty Ltd., which provides heat stress management services to heat-exposed workers. No funding was provided.

Do not read the recovery as proof that ice towels work. This is a single case, emergency care was also provided, rectal temperature was not measured, and cooling rate was not assessed.