Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for the Out-of-Hospital Evaluation and Treatment of Accidental Hypothermia

Publication date: Available online 31 October 2014 Source:Wilderness & Environmental Medicine Author(s): Ken Zafren , Gordon G. Giesbrecht , Daniel F. Danzl , Hermann Brugger , Emily B. Sagalyn , Beat Walpoth , Eric A. Weiss , Paul S. Auerbach , Scott E. McIntosh , Mária Némethy , Marion McDevitt , Jennifer Dow , Robert B. Schoene , George W. Rodway , Peter H. Hackett , Brad L. Bennett , Colin K. Grissom 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.
Source: Wilderness and Environmental Medicine - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research