Search and rescue response to a large-scale rockfall disaster.

Objective: To describe the prehospital management and safety of search and rescue (SAR) teams involved in a large-scale rockfall disaster and monitor the acute and chronic health effects on personnel with severe dolomitic dust exposure.

Methods: SAR personnel underwent on-site medical screening and lung function testing 3 months and 3 years after the event.

Results: The emergency dispatch center was responsible for central coordination of resources.

Defibrillation in rural areas.

Aim Of The Study: Automated external defibrillation (AED) and public access defibrillation (PAD) have become cornerstones in the chain of survival in modern cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Most studies of AED and PAD have been performed in urban areas, and evidence is scarce for sparsely populated rural areas. The aim of this review was to review the literature and discuss treatment strategies for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in rural areas.

Pre-hospital core temperature measurement in accidental and therapeutic hypothermia.

Core temperature (T core) measurement is the only diagnostic tool to accurately assess the severity of hypothermia. International recommendations for management of accidental hypothermia encourage T core measurement for triage, treatment, and transport decisions, but they also recognize that lack of equipment may be a limiting factor, particularly in the field. The aim of this nonsystematic review is to highlight the importance of field measurement of T core and to provide practical guidance for clinicians on pre-hospital temperature measurement in accidental and therapeutic hypothermia.

The effectiveness of avalanche airbags.

Aim: Asphyxia is the primary cause of death among avalanche victims. Avalanche airbags can lower mortality by directly reducing grade of burial, the single most important factor for survival. This study aims to provide an updated perspective on the effectiveness of this safety device.

Factors associated with optic nerve sheath diameter during exposure to hypobaric hypoxia.

Objective: To monitor the changes in optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) induced by acute exposure to hypobaric hypoxia and to investigate factors associated with these changes, including development of acute mountain sickness.

Methods: In this cohort study, neurologic signs and symptoms, cardiovascular parameters, and ultrasonography of ONSD were prospectively assessed in 19 healthy lowlanders at baseline and after ascent to 3,830 m (3 hours, 9 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 8 days) by blinded investigators. Potential confounding factors (e.

Basic life support trained nurses ventilate more efficiently with laryngeal mask supreme than with facemask or laryngeal tube suction-disposable--a prospective, randomized clinical trial.

Objective: In some emergency situations resuscitation and ventilation may have to be performed by basic life support trained personnel, especially in rural areas where arrival of advanced life support teams can be delayed. The use of advanced airway devices such as endotracheal intubation has been deemphasized for basically-trained personnel, but it is unclear whether supraglottic airway devices are advisable over traditional mask-ventilation.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized clinical single-centre trial we compared airway management and ventilation performed by nurses using facemask, laryngeal mask Supreme (LMA-S) and laryngeal tube suction-disposable (LTS-D).

Respiratory failure and spontaneous hypoglycemia during noninvasive rewarming from 24.7°C (76.5°F) core body temperature after prolonged avalanche burial.

Clinical reports on management and rewarming complications after prolonged avalanche burial are not common. We present a case of an unreported combination of respiratory failure and unexpected spontaneous hypoglycemia during noninvasive rewarming from severe hypothermia. We collected anecdotal observations in a 42-year-old, previously healthy, male backcountry skier admitted to the ICU at a tertiary care center after 2 hours 7 minutes of complete avalanche burial, who presented with a patent airway and a core body temperature of 25.