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Pre-hospital Management of Immersion Hypothermia

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Drowning

Abstract

The prehospital treatment for hypothermic victims has been a controversial topic. The main contributors to the controversy are the incorrect assumptions that prehospital rewarming is dangerous and the absence of randomised controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy, morbidity and mortality of various field or hospital rewarming methods [1, 2]. This can partially explain the large variability in the mortality rate of hypothermia casualties ranging between 17 and 69 % depending on the treatment centre [2]. Despite the controversy, a survey provided to 41 rescue teams showed a strong preference for rewarming hypothermia victims during evacuation, although no consistent protocol exists among the teams [3].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Defence Research and Development Canada, 2459 Pie-XI Blvd North, Quebec City, PQ, G3J 1X5, Canada

    Michel DuCharme

  2. Health, Leisure and Human Performance Research Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Alan Steinman

  3. Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Gordon Giesbrecht

Authors
  1. Michel DuCharme
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  2. Alan Steinman
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  3. Gordon Giesbrecht
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michel DuCharme .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Maatschappij tot Redding van Drenkelingen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Joost J.L.M. Bierens

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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DuCharme, M., Steinman, A., Giesbrecht, G. (2014). Pre-hospital Management of Immersion Hypothermia. In: Bierens, J. (eds) Drowning. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04253-9_135

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04253-9_135

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-04252-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-04253-9

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