• Lucia Laura Di Stefano, Della LiberaBiancaBFaculty of Medicine and Surgery, Università degli studi di Messina, Piazza Pugliatti 1, 98122 Messina, Italy., and Paolo Rodi.
• Internal Medicine department, Clinica Santa Chiara, via Stefano Franscini 4, 6600 Locarno, Switzerland.
• J Travel Med. 2023 Jun 23; 30 (4).

Background/ObjectiveThe number of backcountry skiers and snowboarder surged in the last years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as ski resorts shut down. Inevitably, this led to an increase in avalanche-related injuries and death. As avalanche rescue device, avalanche airbags are increasingly becoming part of the standard winter mountaineering equipment. This study provides a review of the available data and an updated perspective on avalanche airbags, discussing their function and efficacy to reduce mortality and their limitations.ResultsCauses of death in individuals caught by avalanches are multiple. Airbags seem to reduce mortality by decreasing the chances of critical burial, the most determining risk factor. However, there is a scarcity of reliable scientific research on the topic, and the way in which airbags reduce mortality and to what extent is still debated. Several elements seem to influence airbags efficacy, and their use still yields several limitations linked to manufacturing, proper use, users education and risk compensation.ConclusionsAvalanche airbags seem to be an important tool in reducing mortality in the backcountry expeditions. However, more research and standardized data collection are needed to fill the knowledge gap, and mountain communities should promote adequate education of winter-recreationists on how to prevent and react to an avalanche and on the correct use of airbags in combination with already available tools such as transceivers, probes and shovels; and manufacturing companies should ensure higher efficacy of the survival avalanche equipment for better prevention of burial, asphyxia and trauma.© International Society of Travel Medicine 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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