1 University of Washington School of Medicine Seattle, Washington 98105
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Dr. Wolfson letter.
Apparently, Dr. Wolfson misread portions of our article and one of its more important references. For example, we did not conclude that lowered temperature impairs hepatic function because of an increase in the ratio of plasma glycerol to FFA and a failure to metabolize infused glucose with deep hypothermia. We suggested on page 103 of our article that (1) the disparate relationship between plasma glycerol and FFA and (2) the parallel courses of plasma glycerol and lactate levels found in our hypothermic patients might be the result of impaired liver function, but not necessarily indicative of it.