• R Haagensen, K A Sjøborg, A Rossing, H Ingilae, L Markengbakken, and P A Steen.
• Kirurgisk divisjon Ullevål sykehus 0407 Oslo. haarol@online.no
• Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. 2001 Mar 30; 121 (9): 1070-4.

BackgroundSearch and rescue helicopters from the Royal Norwegian Air Force conduct ambulance and search and rescue missions in the Barents Sea. The team on board includes an anaesthesiologist and a paramedic. Operations in this area are challenging due to long distances, severe weather conditions and winter darkness.Material And Methods147 ambulance and 29 search and rescue missions in the Barents Sea during 1994-99 were studied retrospectively with special emphasis on operative conditions and medical results.Results And Interpretation35% of the missions were carried out in darkness. Median time from alarm to first patient contact was 3.3 hours and median duration of the missions was 7.3 hours. 48% of the missions involved ships of foreign nationality. About half of the patients had acute illness, dominated by gastrointestinal and heart diseases. Most of the injuries resulted from on-board accidents; open or closed fractures, amputations, and soft tissue damage. 90% of the patients were hospitalised; 7.5% would probably not have survived without early medical treatment and rapid transportation to hospital.

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