PMID- 25082349
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20150929
LR  - 20141202
IS  - 1879-0267 (Electronic)
IS  - 0020-1383 (Linking)
VI  - 45
IP  - 11
DP  - 2014 Nov
TI  - Epidemiology and mortality of glacier crevasse accidents.
PG  - 1700-3
LID - S0020-1383(14)00320-9 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.injury.2014.07.001 [doi]
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Crevasse accidents can lead to severe injuries and even death, but 
      little is known about their epidemiology and mortality. METHODS: We 
      retrospectively reviewed helicopter-based emergency services rescue missions for 
      crevasse victims in Switzerland between 2000 and 2010. Demographic and 
      epidemiological data were collected. Injury severity was graded according to the 
      National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) score. RESULTS: A total of 415 
      victims of crevasse falls were included in the study. The mean victim age was 40 
      years (SD 13) (range 6-75), 84% were male, and 67% were foreigners. The absolute 
      number of victims was much higher during the months of March, April, July, and 
      August, amounting to 73% of all victims; 77% of victims were practicing 
      mountaineering or ski touring. The mean depth of fall was 16.5m (SD 9.0) (range 
      1-35). Overall on-site mortality was 11%, and it was higher during the ski season 
      than the ski offseason (14% vs. 7%; P=0.01), for foreigners (14% vs. 5%; P=0.01), 
      and with higher mean depth of fall (22 vs. 15m; P=0.01). The NACA score was >/=4 
      for 22% of the victims, indicating potential or overt vital threatening injuries, 
      but 24% of the victims were uninjured (NACA 0). Multivariable analyses revealed 
      that depth of the fall, summer season, and snowshoeing were associated with 
      higher NACA scores, whereas depth of the fall, snowshoeing, and foreigners but 
      not season were associated with higher risk of death. CONCLUSION: The clinical 
      spectrum of injuries sustained by the 415 patients in this study ranged from 
      benign to life-threatening. Death occurred in 11% of victims and seems to be 
      determined primarily by the depth of the fall.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
FAU - Pasquier, Mathieu
AU  - Pasquier M
AD  - Emergency Service, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; 
      Air-Glaciers SA et GRIMM, Maison FXB du Sauvetage, 1950 Sion, Switzerland. 
      Electronic address: Mathieu.Pasquier@chuv.ch.
FAU - Taffe, Patrick
AU  - Taffe P
AD  - Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP), Biopole 2, Route de la 
      Corniche 10, 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland.
FAU - Kottmann, Alexandre
AU  - Kottmann A
AD  - Swiss Air Ambulance Rega, P.O. Box 1414, CH-8058 Zurich Airport, Switzerland.
FAU - Mosimann, Ueli
AU  - Mosimann U
AD  - Fachverantwortlicher Sicherheit, Schweizer Alpen-Club SAC, CH-3068 Utzigen, 
      Switzerland.
FAU - Reisten, Oliver
AU  - Reisten O
AD  - Air Zermatt AG, Raron, P.O. Box 1, CH-3942 Raron, Switzerland; Solothurn 
      Hospitals, CH-4500 Solothurn, Switzerland.
FAU - Hugli, Olivier
AU  - Hugli O
AD  - Emergency Service, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20140716
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Injury
JT  - Injury
JID - 0226040
SB  - IM
MH  - Accidents/mortality/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Air Ambulances/statistics & numerical data
MH  - Child
MH  - Child, Preschool
MH  - *Emergency Medical Services/organization & administration/statistics & numerical 
      data
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Ice Cover
MH  - Infant
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Mountaineering/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Rescue Work
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - Seasons
MH  - Severity of Illness Index
MH  - Skiing/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Switzerland/epidemiology
MH  - Wounds and Injuries/*mortality
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Crevasse
OT  - Emergency Medical Services
OT  - Epidemiology
OT  - Hypothermia
OT  - Mountain Medicine
OT  - Trauma
EDAT- 2014/08/02 06:00
MHDA- 2015/09/30 06:00
CRDT- 2014/08/02 06:00
PHST- 2014/02/14 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2014/07/04 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2014/07/07 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2014/08/02 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2014/08/02 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2015/09/30 06:00 [medline]
AID - S0020-1383(14)00320-9 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.injury.2014.07.001 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Injury. 2014 Nov;45(11):1700-3. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2014.07.001. Epub 2014 Jul 
      16.