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Practice Guideline
. 2014 Dec;25(4):425-45.
doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2014.09.002. Epub 2014 Oct 31.

Wilderness Medical Society practice guidelines for the out-of-hospital evaluation and treatment of accidental hypothermia

Ken Zafren  1 , Gordon G Giesbrecht  2 , Daniel F Danzl  3 , Hermann Brugger  4 , Emily B Sagalyn  5 , Beat Walpoth  6 , Eric A Weiss  7 , Paul S Auerbach  7 , Scott E McIntosh  8 , Mária Némethy  8 , Marion McDevitt  8 , Jennifer Dow  9 , Robert B Schoene  10 , George W Rodway  11 , Peter H Hackett  12 , Brad L Bennett  13 , Colin K Grissom  14 ; Wilderness Medical Society
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Practice Guideline

Wilderness Medical Society practice guidelines for the out-of-hospital evaluation and treatment of accidental hypothermia

Ken Zafren et al. Wilderness Environ Med. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

To provide guidance to clinicians, the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) convened an expert panel to develop evidence-based guidelines for the out-of-hospital evaluation and treatment of victims of accidental hypothermia. The guidelines present the main diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and provide recommendations for the management of hypothermic patients. The panel graded the recommendations based on the quality of supporting evidence and the balance between benefits and risks/burdens according the criteria published by the American College of Chest Physicians. The guidelines also provide suggested general approaches to the evaluation and treatment of accidental hypothermia that incorporate specific recommendations.

Keywords: accidental hypothermia; avalanche; cold; hypothermia; resuscitation; rewarming; wilderness medicine.

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Comment in

  • Hypothermia Evidence, Afterdrop, and Practical Experience.
    Brown D, Ellerton J, Paal P, Boyd J. Brown D, et al. Wilderness Environ Med. 2015 Sep;26(3):437-9. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2015.01.008. Epub 2015 Mar 29. Wilderness Environ Med. 2015. PMID: 25823604 No abstract available.
  • Hypothermia Evidence, Afterdrop, and Guidelines.
    Zafren K, Giesbrecht GG, Danzl DF, Brugger H, Sagalyn EB, Walpoth B, Weiss EA, Auerbach PS, McIntosh SE, Némethy M, McDevitt M, Dow J, Schoene RB, Rodway GW, Hackett PH, Bennett BL, Grissom CK. Zafren K, et al. Wilderness Environ Med. 2015 Sep;26(3):439-41. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2015.02.001. Epub 2015 Apr 1. Wilderness Environ Med. 2015. PMID: 25840910 No abstract available.

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