AvaLife—A New Multi-Disciplinary Approach Supported by Accident and Field Test Data to Optimize Survival Chances in Rescue and First Aid of Avalanche Patients

Manuel Genswein, Darryl Macias, Scott McIntosh, Ingrid Reiweger, Audun Hetland and Peter Paal
Additional contact information
Manuel Genswein: MountainSafety.info, 7260 Davos, Switzerland
Darryl Macias: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of New Mexico, International Mountain Medicine Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Scott McIntosh: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Utah Health, AirMed, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
Ingrid Reiweger: Institute of Mountain Risk Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Audun Hetland: CARE Center for Avalanche Research and Education, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9010 Tromsø, Norway
Peter Paal: Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, St. John of God Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University, 5010 Salzburg, Austria

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Snow sports in the backcountry have seen a steep increase in popularity, and therefore preparedness for efficient companion and organized rescue is important. While technical rescue skills are widely taught, there is a lack of knowledge regarding first aid for avalanche patients. The stressful and time-critical situation for first responders requires a rule-based decision support tool. AvaLife has been designed from scratch, applying mathematical and statistical approaches including Monte Carlo simulations. New analysis of retrospective data and large prospective field test datasets were used to develop evidence-based algorithms exclusively for the avalanche rescue environment. AvaLife differs from other algorithms as it is not just a general-purpose CPR algorithm which has been slightly adapted for the avalanche patient. The sequence of actions, inclusion of the ≥150 cm burial depth triage criterion, advice to limit CPR duration for normothermic patients to 6 min in case of multiple burials and shortage of resources, criteria for using recovered subjects as a resource in the ongoing rescue, the adapted definition of “injuries incompatible with life”, reasoning behind the utmost importance of rescue breaths, as well as the updated BLS-iCPR algorithm make AvaLife useful in single and multiple burial rescue. AvaLife is available as a companion rescue basic life support (BLS) version for the recreational user and an advanced companion and organized rescue BLS version for guides, ski patrols and mountain rescuers. AvaLife allows seamless interoperability with advanced life support (ALS) qualified medical personnel arriving on site.

Keywords: hypothermia; accidental; asphyxia; avalanche; basic life support; cardiac arrest; emergency medical services; mountain rescue (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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