Avalanche Emergency - Update 2015: New Findings Call for New Strategies

摘要

An avalanche emergency is a special case in the field of alpine emergency medicine. While the prognosis of uninjured patients with severe accidental hypothermia is in general favorable, the outcome of avalanche victims depends primarily on the severity of asphyxia and traumatic injuries. The probability of successful resuscitation and rewarming of avalanche victims in cardiac arrest is very low. Rescuers should have basic knowledge of the pathophysiology and guidelines on management of avalanche victims in cardiac arrest. Buried patients with a chance of successful resuscitation should be identified already at the scene and the rescue chain should proceed to successful rewarming in a suitable hospital. In the following article, basics of the pathophysiology and therapy of avalanche victims in accordance with the new ERC resuscitation guidelines are described.