@article{ref1,
title="Efficacy of warming systems in mountain rescue: an experimental manikin study",
journal="International journal of biometeorology",
year="2020",
author="Podsiadło, Paweł and Zender-Świercz, Ewa and Strapazzon, Giacomo and Kosiński, Sylweriusz and Telejko, Marek and Darocha, Tomasz and Brugger, Hermann",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="Mountain accident casualties are often exposed to cold and windy weather. This may induce post-traumatic hypothermia which increases mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of warming systems to compensate for the victim's estimated heat loss in a simulated mountain rescue operation. We used thermal manikins and developed a thermodynamic model of a virtual patient. Manikins were placed on a mountain rescue stretcher and exposed to wind chill indices of 0 °C and - 20 °C in a climatic chamber. We calculated the heat balance for two simulated clinical scenarios with both a shivering and non-shivering victim and measured the heat gain from gel, electrical, and chemical warming systems for 3.5 h. The heat balance in the simulated shivering patient was positive. In the non-shivering patient, we found a negative heat balance for both simulated weather conditions (- 429.53 kJ at 0 °C and - 1469.78 kJ at - 20 °C). Each warming system delivered about 300 kJ. The efficacy of the gel and electrical systems was higher within the first hour than later (p < 0.001). We conclude that none of the tested warming systems is able to compensate for heat loss in a simulated model of a non-shivering patient whose physiological heat production is impaired during a prolonged mountain evacuation. Additional thermal insulation seems to be required in these settings.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0020-7128",
doi="10.1007/s00484-020-02008-6",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-02008-6"
}