PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Objective: Entrapment is a common feature of motor vehicle accidents. Seriously injured patients suffer from rapid loss of body temperature, which aggravates the severity of their injuries. Hypothermia is a predictor of mortality in major trauma and therefore more efforts should be undertaken to limit heat loss in the pre-hospital field. Due to the complex nature of some entrapments and prolonged time required for technical rescue strategies to be employed, some patient will inevitably become severely hypothermic. This is compounded in austere environments when ambient temperature is low. Several methods have been tried to prevent pre-hospital hypothermia, but none have produced favorable results. Forced-Air-Warming (FAW) is the method of choice to prevent hypothermia in the operating room environment. To assess the feasibility of forced air warming in entrapment we have carried out the following experiment. Methods: we have carried out a simulated extrication in cold weather conditions using an outdoor heater as FAW device to prevent accidental hypothermia in a volunteer. Results: Multiple site temperature recordings indicate no heat loss when the FAW is used, but a significant heat loss without the use of FAW. Feedback from the attending services confirmed that the method is feasible. Conclusion: Our results indicate that forced air warming could be used to treat hypothermia in entrapped victims after road traffic accidents and that a prospective feasibility study is justified.