Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:242-245
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
The psychiatric uses of cold wet sheet packs
DR Ross, R Lewin, K Gold, HS Ghuman, B Rosenblum, S Salzberg and AM Brooks
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, Towson, MD 21204.
The cold wet sheet pack is a treatment that is seldom discussed anymore.
The authors present results of a national survey which demonstrated that
this treatment is rarely used in modern American psychiatry. They
retrospectively review its recent use for 46 hospitalized psychiatric
patients and conclude that the treatment is safe and has interesting and
useful effects that go beyond the concept of simple restraint. Further
study of treatment with cold wet sheet packs is recommended before it
disappears altogether.
