[Patient with high fever--the possibility of heatstroke should be kept in mind also in Finland].

In heatstroke, excessive exposure to heat causes the rise of core body temperature above 40 degrees C. A disturbed state of the central nervous system is regarded as another diagnostic criterion, varying from mild disorientation to coma. The recognition of this rare state is important also in Finland, since as many as 50 to 70% of cases are fatal. In addition to direct cellular damage caused by elevated temperature, an inflammation arising in the body will in the worst case lead to endothelial injury, microthromboses and eventually to multiorgan failure. We present a fatal case of heatstroke. Language: fi