Trauma Training for Journalists: Developing and Implementing an Intercultural Medical Curriculum for Journalists Working in Regions of Conflict

Abstract

University Hospital Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, Austrian Board of Alpine Safety, Innsbruck, Austria, Alpine Police, Federal Ministry of the Interior, Vienna, Austria, Barts Heart Centre, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK Introduction.—Since November 1, 2005, the Austrian Alpine Police records data for every mountain accident, which is reported to an emergency dispatch center, in a digital database. Still, no medical data on lightning injuries in the Austrian mountains are available. Objective.—To analyze lightning casualties in the Austrian mountains with respect to accident mechanism, injury pattern, and medical outcome. Methods.—The database was evaluated regarding emergencies caused by lightning that occurred from November 1, 2005, to December 31, 2014. Additionally, data for lightning strike victims who were treated at the Innsbruck University Hospital in Western Austria were included. This tertiary level hospital in the Eastern European Alps has a catchment area of approximately 25,000 km and 3 million inhabitants. Data included sex, age, victim’s activity at the time of the injury, severity of injury, and time and location of the accident. Results.—In the study period, 67,807 alpine accidents were registered in the database, and 70,675 casualties were involved. The search for lightning casualties revealed 96 persons. Sixty-four of these fulfilled inclusion criteria for this study. Sixty of the victims (94%) survived the lightning accident. Four people died; among these were 2 hunters who were killed while in a high seat and a ranger who was felling trees. The fourth person was a hiker who was hiding from the thunderstorm below a mountain peak when he was hit. Conclusions.—Most lightning accidents happen in late afternoon in summer. Climbers, mountaineers, and hikers are most commonly hit; however, they also make up the highest share of people who are active in the mountains. People next to trees seem to be at high risk of being struck by lethal lightning. Lightning accidents affecting humans should be better interlinked with hospital data to gain better insight into accident mechanism and outcome.