Mechanical chest compressions in an avalanche victim with cardiac arrest: an option for extreme mountain rescue operations

Abstract

Mountain rescue operations often present helicopter emergency medical service crews with unique challenges. One of the most challenging problems is the prehospital care of cardiac arrest patients during evacuation and transport. In this paper we outline a case in which we successfully performed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of an avalanche victim. A mechanical chest-compression device proved to be a good way of minimizing hands-off time and providing high-quality chest compressions while the patient was evacuated from the site of the accident.

Keywords: accidental hypothermia; avalanche; helicopter emergency medical service; mechanical chest compression device; organ donation; out-of-hospital-resuscitation.