Emergency medicine in Antarctica

• Published in: Emergency Medicine
• Main Authors: Taylor, David McD, Gormly, Peter J
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1997
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-2026.1997.tb00394.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1442-2026.1997.tb00394.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1442-2026.1997.tb00394.x

Abstract Antarctica provides immense and varied challenges, not least of which is the provision of adequate health care for expedition personnel. Although expeditioners must be healthy and not reliant upon medication for the maintenance of health, unexpected illness and accidents are always a possibility. An Antarctic health facility must be well organised, able to accommodate almost every contingency and be provided with adequate equipment, medication and medical expertise. This paper describes the provision of emergency health care at Australian Antarctic stations and discusses the climate and environment, medical practitioner selection and training, equipment and facilities, medical conditions expected, evacuation and aspects of Antarctic telemedicine. Some illustrative cases are presented.