• Mario Milani, Giulia Roveri, Marika Falla, Tomas Dal Cappello, and Giacomo Strapazzon.
• International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MedCom), Zürich, Switzerland; Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico, National Medical School (CNSAS SNaMed), Milan, Italy.
• Ann Emerg Med. 2023 Jun 1; 81 (6): 699705699-705.

Study ObjectiveWe analyzed occupational accidents reported among Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) providers during mountain search and rescue operations and training events in Italy (1999 to 2019).MethodsWe extracted anonymized data from the CNSAS accident database for all cases of injured mountain search and rescue providers that activated CNSAS insurance (1999 to 2019). We report epidemiological characteristics, mechanisms, type, and severity of injury or illness, clinical outcome, and recovery time.ResultsA total of 784 cases of injuries in CNSAS mountain search and rescue providers were recorded. Forty-one percent of the cases occurred during rescue operations and 59% during training events. Overall, trauma was the main cause of injury (96%), whereas only 4% of the cases were classified as medical or environmental illnesses. Moderate injury (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics II to III) occurred in 80% of the reported accidents. Recovery time differed based on the degree of accident severity. Fatalities occurred in 2% of the cases reported and occurred during rescue operations only.ConclusionIn this long-term retrospective analysis, we showed that accidents occurred among mountain search and rescue providers both during rescue operations and training events. Given the high prevalence and associated costs, it is of pivotal importance to understand the epidemiology and characteristics of occupational injury and illness among this out-of-hospital workforce to better inform future prevention strategies.Copyright © 2022 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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