• Alexander Poole, Josianne Gauthier, and Mira MacLennan.
• Whitehorse General Hospital (Poole), Whitehorse, Yukon; Department of Surgery (Poole), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.; Whitehorse General Hospital (Gauthier), Yukon Hospital Corporation, Whitehorse, Yukon; University of Saskatchewan (Gauthier), Saskatoon, Sask.; Department of Surgery (MacLennan), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (MacLennan), Boston, Mass. alexjpoole@mac.com.
• CMAJ Open. 2021 Apr 1; 9 (2): E585-E591.

BackgroundWe identified the need to modernize frostbite management in our northern centre and implemented a treatment protocol in 2015. Our aim was to describe the clinical course of patients presenting to the hospital since the implementation of the protocol.MethodsThis was a retrospective case series from Whitehorse General Hospital, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. We reviewed the charts of patients who presented to the hospital with grade 2-4 frostbite and were treated as per our protocol between Feb. 9, 2015, and Feb. 8, 2020. Patients with grade 2-4 frostbite received iloprost; in addition, those with grade 4 frostbite received alteplase and heparin. We determined the number of digits affected and salvaged, and the time from presentation to the emergency department to treatment initiation. We also examined patients' demographic characteristics, predisposing events, frostbite severity and adverse drug reactions.ResultsIn 22 patients treated for grade 2-4 frostbite, 142 digits were affected: 59 with grade 2 frostbite, 25 with grade 3 frostbite and 58 with grade 4 frostbite; of the 142, 113 (79.6%) were salvaged. All 29 digits amputated had grade 4 frostbite. The mean time from presentation to iloprost initiation was reduced from 32.9 hours in 2015 to 3.0 hours in 2020. Sports (10 cases [45%]) and alcohol use (6 [27%]) were the most common precipitating events, with alcohol use tending to result in more severe injury (grade 4 in 5 of 6 cases). Adverse reactions with iloprost (e.g., headache) were common but mild. Adverse reactions with alteplase (e.g., bleeding) were less common but of greater clinical significance.InterpretationOver the study period, our protocol contributed to improvement in frostbite care at our institution, resulting in a digit salvage rate comparable to other published results. Our 5-year experience shows that advanced medical care of frostbite can be achieved, even at a rural centre.© 2021 CMA Joule Inc. or its licensors.

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