Cricothyrotomy is an emergency procedure that is used to obtain an airway when other, more routine methods are ineffective or contraindicated. For most of us it is not part of our daily routine to perform a cricothyrotomy in the hospital, let alone in the outdoors. This case report describes an improvised cricothyrotomy performed with a pocket knife […]

Anne Brants, co-founder Outdoor Medicine, has written an article for the magazine \”Hike & Trekking\”. You can read the column here (in Dutch).

For many years, drugs have been used to enhance performance in mountaineering. The UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation – Union International des Associations d’Alpinisme) MedCom developed evidence-based guidelines for drug use and misuse in mountains. They conclude: “If using drugs not regulated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), individuals have to determine their own […]

Adventurous trip through Botswana and Zimbabwe (Okavango Delta, Maghadighadi salt pan, Chobe National Park and the Victoria Falls). Medical workshops and lectures on wilderness and expedition medicine (e.g. envenomations and animal bites, hyperthermia, dehydration, tropical diseases, improvised trauma and wound care). Visit the African Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) and snake farm. Various outdoor activities: […]

The last AWLS course of this year took place in Soest, The Netherlands. Half of the 3-day course consisted of lectures (e.g. hyper- and hypothermia, dive medicine, avalanche, altitude illness) and the other half was a hands on experience (e.g. patient assessment, wound- and fracture management, patient transport, emergency evacuation, communication). Floris, one of our […]