Respiratory Gas Shifts to Delay Asphyxiation in Critical Avalanche Burial

Does a novel device delay the onset of hypoxemia and hypercapnia during critical avalanche burial by enhancing airflow to users’ airways?Median burial durations were 35.0 minutes in the intervention group, with no events (defined as Spo <80%), and 6.4 minutes in the control group, with 7 events. The device demonstrated its efficacy in simulated burial scenarios delaying hypoxemia and hypercapnia, and stabilizing ventilatory and cardiovascular parameters.Integrating this innovative technology into personal avalanche safety equipment, alongside existing tools like avalanche airbags and transceivers, could increase survival rates by extending the time available for successful rescue.

Corresponding Author: Giacomo Strapazzon, MD, PhD, Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Eurac Research, Via Ipazia 2, 39100 Bolzano, Italy (giacomo.strapazzon@eurac.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.