Wilderness medicine

The Wilderness Medical Society convened a panel to review available evidence supporting practices for the prevention and acute management of drowning in out-of-hospital and emergency medical care settings. Literature about definition and terminology, epidemiology, rescue, resuscitation, acute clinical management, disposition, and drowning prevention was reviewed. The panel graded evidence supporting practices according to the American College of Chest Physicians criteria, then made recommendations based on that evidence...

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The American Association of Poison Control Centers has continued to report approximately 50,000 telephone calls or 8% of incoming calls annually related to plant exposures, mostly in children. Although the frequency of plant ingestions in children is related to the presence of popular species in households, adolescents may experiment with hallucinogenic plants; and trekkers and foragers may misidentify poisonous plants as edible. Since plant exposures have continued at a constant rate, the objectives of this review were (1) to review the epidemiology of plant poisonings; and (2) to propose a rapid toxidromic classification system for highly toxic plant ingestions for field use by first responders in comparison to current classification systems...

OBJECTIVES: The unique challenges posed by the Antarctic environment include both physiological and psychological stressors to the individual as well as the limited onsite medical capabilities available to address them. This report compares medical clinic utilization among 3 US Antarctic stations to identify differences in diagnostic frequency and utilization of clinic resources under current medical prescreening regimes for summer and winter seasons. METHODS: Clinic data from 3 Antarctic locations (McMurdo Station, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and Palmer Station) for the 2013-2014 Antarctic year were reviewed for patient encounter frequency by season, and provider-assigned visit diagnostic category...