Snow burial is often used experimentally to simulate avalanche burials. In this paper, they used snow burial to allow measurement of core temperature cooling and afterdrop. The authors were attempting to compare the afterdrop rate of patients who were immediately…
Most of us working in the ED have seen the patient who responds to the first dose of epinephrine, but then has a repeat episode of anaphylaxis. Per this paper, this occurs 1/3 of the time. People who know they…
Anyone who goes backpacking knows that suitable water can be hard to find. Contaminated water can make for serious health problems. For those areas where people live with contaminated water, the problem is compounded, as children have significantly higher mortality…
Bears are big and dangerous. Certainly, they don’t typically go out looking for people, but people continue to go further into bear habitats, increasing the chances of injury. This paper in the journal Injury describes bear attack patients who presented…
Lightning strikes cause an average of 53 deaths per year in the US, killing about 10% of those who are struck. Strikes are well known to cause audiovestibular sequelae. The first reported case of deafness after lightning was in 1879,…
It’s been a rough week in southeast Tennessee. Two people died in two days on Grumpy’s rapid past Ocoee Dam No. 2. Just how common is death due to whitewater rafting? Wilson et al reviewed 16 articles in the primary…
It goes without saying that the body is designed to work aerobically. The mind therefore, follows the same pattern. This essay by Rodway shows historical data and research about the changes in cognition as one goes further up into thin…
Tech shirts. All of the major companies make them now. Mostly polyester, they were designed originally to increase evaporation to provide a “cool” feeling and decrease the amount of sweat present in the clothing after a workout. They were popular…
Alligators can be found from Florida to Texas, and north into North Carolina and possibly even Tennessee. 3 species are present, with the American alligator being predominant, followed by the American crocodile in southern Florida, and the caiman is an…