Navy’s hypothermia test ‘could save countless lives’

A unique experiment by Naval Service volunteers and a medical expert on how to deal with casualties who have been in the water for some time could save countless lives worldwide.

Mon, 01 Jun, 2015 - 01:00

Sean O’Riordan

Around one in five people who are rescued after sinkings die because they do not get the necessary treatment.

However, thanks to the work of the navy volunteers and Patrick Buck, who oversaw the experiment, that figure could be drastically reduced.

Ten navy volunteers — seven men and three women — of differing ages and wearing differing degrees of clothing were recently immersed in the cold sea for up to an hour.

For safety reasons, Dr Buck, who works with the fisheries authorities, got the subjects to swallow monitors which lodged temporarily in their intestines and measured core body temperature and heart rate.

“Around 20% of casualties taken from the sea die from post rescue shock, or ‘after drop’ as it’s known,” said Dr Buck.

That is because their core body temperature drops to supply heat to the extremities.

Dr Buck, who recently published a field guide to treating cold water immersion incidents, which was heralded by explorer Tim Severin, said the experiment showed people need several more hours of warming treatment then first realised.

“What the navy volunteers did will absolutely save lives,” Dr Buck said.

Commander Ken Minihane said the experiment also provided the Naval Service with useful information about how to treat such casualties.

“Now we realise it takes much longer to make sure a person is alright,” said Cmdr Minihane. “They should be kept under scrutiny for six to seven hours. That might not necessarily mean they have to be under medical scrutiny all that time but shouldn’t be left alone.

“One of the aims of the study was to construct a video to highlight the impacts of cold water shock, cold water incapacitation and post-emersion care.

“The fact that 20% of deaths occur from ‘after drop’ just goes to show how aftercare is so important.”