Emergency medical helicopter operations for avalanche accidents

Mair, Peter; Frimmel, Christian; Vergeiner, Gernot; Hohlrieder, Matthias; Moroder, Luca; Hoesl, Peter; Voelckel, Wolfgang G.

doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2012.09.010

Cited by 40 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Tschirky et al, 2000;Brugger et al, 2007;Hohlrieder et al, 2008). Further technological developments such as the increasing use of radios and later of mobile phones for alarming organized rescue teams, as well as helicopter-assisted rescues and improved medical equipment, allowed professional rescue teams to respond more efficiently, administer first aid medical treatment already on site, and transport patients rapidly to hospitals for further treatment (Atkins, 2008;Mair et al, 2013). These technological developments in avalanche rescue were accompanied by continuous efforts to educate recreationists and professionals (Valla, 1984).…”

Section: Uncontrolled Terrainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avalanche fatalities in the European Alps: long-term trends and statistics

Techel¹,

Jarry²,

Kronthaler

et al. 2016

Geogr. Helv.

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Abstract. Avalanche accidents, particularly those resulting in fatalities, attract substantial attention from policy makers and organizations, as well as from the media and the public. Placing fatal accidents in a wider context requires long-term and robust statistics. However, avalanche accident statistics, like most other accident statistics, often rely on relatively small sample sizes, with single multi-fatality events and random effects having a potentially large influence on summary and trend statistics. Additionally, trend interpretation is challenging because statistics are generally explored at a national level, and studies vary in both the period covered and the methods. Here, we addressed these issues by combining the avalanche fatality data from the European Alps (Austria, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland) for three different periods between 1937 and 2015 and applying the same data analysis methodology. During the last four decades, about 100 people lost their lives each year in the Alps. Despite considerable inter-annual variation, this number has remained relatively constant in the last decades. However, exploring fatality numbers by the location of the victims at the time of the avalanche revealed two partly opposing trends. The number of fatalities in controlled terrain (settlements and transportation corridors) has decreased significantly since the 1970s. In contrast to this development, the number of fatalities in uncontrolled terrain (mostly recreational accidents) almost doubled between the 1960s and 1980s and has remained relatively stable since then, despite a strong increase in the number of winter backcountry recreationists. Corresponding to these trends, the proportion of fatalities in uncontrolled terrain increased from 72 to 97 %. These long-term trends were evident in most national statistics. Further, the temporal correlation between subsets of the Alpine fatality data, and between some of the national statistics, suggests that time series covering a longer period may be used as an indicator for missing years in shorter-duration datasets. Finally, statistics from countries with very few incidents should be compared to, or analysed together with, those from neighbouring countries exhibiting similar economical and structural developments and characteristics.

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Section: Uncontrolled Terrainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avalanche fatalities in the European Alps: long-term trends and statistics

Techel¹,

Jarry²,

Kronthaler

et al. 2016

Geogr. Helv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…[5][6][7] With the use of avalanche transceivers many completely buried victims can be extricated from the snow within less than 35 min and resuscitated by bystanders, if necessary. 6,8,9 The outcome of patients presenting with OHCA after short duration of burial (up to 35 min) has not yet been studied. In such cases asphyxia or trauma, but not hypothermia, may be the cause of cardiac arrest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In such cases asphyxia or trauma, but not hypothermia, may be the cause of cardiac arrest. 5,6,9,10 The current study evaluated the pre-hospital and in-hospital resuscitation measures and outcome of patients with OHCA in a consecutive series of avalanche victims.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outcome of avalanche victims with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

et al. 2015

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“…One limitation of this study is that these results pertain to one region and may not be reflective of other regions, although this is a limitation for most studies published to date on avalanche accidents [2,16]. Second, the data stem from a retrospective analysis of accident reports, which are completed by personnel with varying levels of training; decisions on transport and ECC rewarming could also be made on the basis of other factors not documented or directly stated in the reports (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehospital management and outcome of avalanche patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a retrospective study in Tyrol, Austria

Strapazzon

Plankensteiner²,

Mair³

et al. 2017

European Journal of Emergency Medicine

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CPR is continued to hospital admission in patients with short burial and asphyxial cardiac arrest, but withheld or terminated at the scene in patients with long burial and possible hypothermic cardiac arrest. Insufficient transfer of information from the accident site to the hospital may partially explain the poor outcome of avalanche victims with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treated with emergency cardiac care.

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Emergency medical helicopter operations for avalanche accidents

Cited by 40 publications

References 11 publications

Avalanche fatalities in the European Alps: long-term trends and statistics

Avalanche fatalities in the European Alps: long-term trends and statistics

Outcome of avalanche victims with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Prehospital management and outcome of avalanche patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a retrospective study in Tyrol, Austria

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