Cases of Lightning Strikes during Mountain-Sports Activities: An Analysis of Emergencies from the Swiss Alps.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Lightning strikes are a risk during mountain-sport activities. Yet little is known about the prevalence of injuries related to lightning strikes during mountain hiking, backcountry skiing, or high-altitude mountaineering. This study therefore examined the occurrence and characteristics of lightning-strike-related emergencies during mountain-sport activities in the Swiss Alps.

Methods

We analyzed 11,221 alpine emergencies during mountain hiking, 4687 during high-altitude mountaineering, and 3044 during backcountry skiing in the observational period from 2009 to 2020. Identified cases were analyzed in detail regarding age, sex, the time of occurrence, altitude, location, the severity of the injury as quantified by its NACA Score (National Advisory Committee for Aero

SUBMITTER: Gasser B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8998020 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature