Wilderness & environmental medicine
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Wilderness Environ Med · Sep 2014
Practice GuidelineWilderness Medical Society practice guidelines for basic wound management in the austere environment.
In an effort to produce best-practice guidelines for wound management in the austere environment, the Wilderness Medical Society convened an expert panel charged with the development of evidence-based guidelines for the management of wounds sustained in an austere (dangerous or compromised) environment. Recommendations are made about several parameters related to wound management. These recommendations are graded based on the quality of supporting evidence and the balance between the benefits and risks or burdens for each parameter according to the methodology stipulated by the American College of Chest Physicians.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Jun 2014
Acute mountain sickness is not repeatable across two 12-hour normobaric hypoxia exposures.
The purposes of this experiment were to determine the repeatability of acute mountain sickness (AMS), AMS symptoms, and physiological responses across 2 identical hypoxic exposures. ⋯ The LLS was not repeatable across 2 identical hypoxic exposures. Increased familiarity with the environment (not acclimation) could explain the reduced AMS severity on the second hypoxic exposure. Headache was the most reliable AMS symptom.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Jun 2014
Long-term complications of rattlesnake bites: a telephone survey from Central California.
The purpose of this institutional review board-approved, cross-sectional study was to identify residual symptoms and signs of envenomation reported by snakebite survivors via a telephone survey. ⋯ Our study population demonstrated a notable incidence (43%) of self-reported persistent symptoms related to their rattlesnake bites, although the overall level of disability from these injuries seems low.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Jun 2014
Case ReportsMechanical chest compressions in an avalanche victim with cardiac arrest: an option for extreme mountain rescue operations.
Mountain rescue operations often present helicopter emergency medical service crews with unique challenges. One of the most challenging problems is the prehospital care of cardiac arrest patients during evacuation and transport. In this paper we outline a case in which we successfully performed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of an avalanche victim. A mechanical chest-compression device proved to be a good way of minimizing hands-off time and providing high-quality chest compressions while the patient was evacuated from the site of the accident.