Wilderness & environmental medicine
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Wilderness Environ Med · Mar 2018
Knowledge of the Avalanche Victim Resuscitation Checklist and Utility of a Standardized Lecture in Italy.
To explore baseline knowledge about avalanche guidelines and the Avalanche Victim Resuscitation Checklist (AVReCh) in Italy and the knowledge acquisition from a standardized lecture. ⋯ Health care providers and mountain rescue personnel are not widely aware of avalanche guidelines. The standardized lecture significantly improved knowledge of the principles of avalanche management related to core AVReCh elements. However, the effect that this knowledge acquisition has on avalanche victim survival or adherence to the AVReCh in the field is yet to be determined.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Dec 2017
Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia, Hypernatremia, and Hydration Status in Multistage Ultramarathons.
Dysnatremia and altered hydration status are potentially serious conditions that have not been well studied in multistage ultramarathons. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and prevalence of exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) (Na+ <135 mmol·L-1) and hypernatremia (Na+ >145 mmol·L-1) and hydration status during a multistage ultramarathon. ⋯ The incidence of EAH in multistage ultramarathons was similar to marathons and single-stage ultramarathons, but the cumulative incidence of hypernatremia was 3 times greater than that of EAH. EAH was associated with increased weight gain (overhydration) in early stage nonfinishers and postrace finishers.
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Scorpionism is an endemic public health problem in Jordan encountered by health providers in all parts of the country. This study updates epidemiological data on scorpion sting encounters in Jordan. ⋯ Scorpion stings remain a medical problem in Jordan that requires more attention by health providers. Reporting of scorpion sting cases should be enforced from all healthcare centers throughout the country to better understand the epidemiology and health implications of human encounters.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Jun 2017
Texas Bull Nettle (Cnidoscolus texanus) Exposures Reported to Texas Poison Centers.
Texas bull nettle (Cnidoscolus texanus) is covered in bristly hairs similar to stinging nettle. Contact with the plant may result in intense dermal pain, burning, itching, cellulitis, and allergic reaction. This study characterizes C texanus exposures reported to a large state-wide poison center system. ⋯ C texanus exposures reported to Texas poison centers were most likely to be unintentional and occur at the patient's own residence. The outcomes of the exposures tended not to be serious and could be managed successfully outside of health care facilities.
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Prolonged field care (PFC) has emerged as a recent area of focus for US military Special Operations Forces (SOF) medical experts. Focused on the current reality of providing medical care to military forces often deployed in remote and austere locations far from medical support or a robust casualty evacuation chain, PFC encompasses evolving operational situations not unlike many wilderness medicine practice environments. SOF currently operates in all areas of the world and on a variety of different missions, which finds these small teams far from the accustomed practice environment of robust deployed medical infrastructure commonly seen during the last 15 years of military conflicts. ⋯ The approach to training and educating SOF medics on PFC is based on defined capabilities and operational situations that incorporate best medical practices and seeks to place advance resuscitative capabilities into the hands of providers closest to the point of injury. By transitioning from an approach solely driven by acute trauma aide, incorporating the best practices of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), PFC builds upon best practices for the continuing management of both medical and trauma patients in wilderness environments. PFC incorporates best practices in generally hospital-based management of serious and critical casualties to decrease both mortality and morbidity in austere, prehospital operational settings.