Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training
ABSTRACTCold-weather military operations can quickly undermine warfighter readiness and performance. Specifically, accidental cold-water immersion (CWI) contributes to rapid body heat loss and impaired motor function. This study evaluated the prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures...
Published in: | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 https://doaj.org/article/66e3fd489d0e4ba6a3bc4d47b6a0a450 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:66e3fd489d0e4ba6a3bc4d47b6a0a450 2024-01-21T10:03:56+01:00 Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training Douglas M. Jones Rebecca S. Weller Rebecca J. McClintock Nicholas Roberts Weimin Zheng Timothy L. Dunn 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 https://doaj.org/article/66e3fd489d0e4ba6a3bc4d47b6a0a450 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 https://doaj.org/toc/2242-3982 doi:10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 2242-3982 https://doaj.org/article/66e3fd489d0e4ba6a3bc4d47b6a0a450 International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 82, Iss 1 (2023) Cold-injury warfighter cold-weather medicine core temperature hand function Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 2023-12-24T01:42:47Z ABSTRACTCold-weather military operations can quickly undermine warfighter readiness and performance. Specifically, accidental cold-water immersion (CWI) contributes to rapid body heat loss and impaired motor function. This study evaluated the prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during CWI. One-hundred seventeen (N = 117) military personnel (mean ± SD age: 27 ± 6 yr, height: 176 ± 8 cm, weight: 81.5 ± 11.6 kg) completed CWI and rewarming during cold-weather training, which included a 10-min outdoor CWI (1.3 ± 1.4°C) combined with cold air (−4.2 ± 8.5°C) exposure. Following CWI, students removed wet clothing, donned dry clothing, and entered sleeping systems. Core (Tc) and hand (Thand) temperatures were recorded continuously during the training exercise. Tc for 96 students (mean ± SD lowest Tc = 35.6 ± 0.9°C) revealed that 24 students (25%) experienced Tc below 35.0°C. All of 110 students (100%) experienced Thand below 15.0°C, with 71 students (65%) experiencing Thand at or below 8.0°C. Loss of hand function and hypothermia should be anticipated in warfighters who experience CWI in field settings. Given the high prevalence of low Thand, focus should be directed on quickly rewarming hands to recover function. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic International Journal of Circumpolar Health 82 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Cold-injury warfighter cold-weather medicine core temperature hand function Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
spellingShingle |
Cold-injury warfighter cold-weather medicine core temperature hand function Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Douglas M. Jones Rebecca S. Weller Rebecca J. McClintock Nicholas Roberts Weimin Zheng Timothy L. Dunn Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
topic_facet |
Cold-injury warfighter cold-weather medicine core temperature hand function Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
ABSTRACTCold-weather military operations can quickly undermine warfighter readiness and performance. Specifically, accidental cold-water immersion (CWI) contributes to rapid body heat loss and impaired motor function. This study evaluated the prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during CWI. One-hundred seventeen (N = 117) military personnel (mean ± SD age: 27 ± 6 yr, height: 176 ± 8 cm, weight: 81.5 ± 11.6 kg) completed CWI and rewarming during cold-weather training, which included a 10-min outdoor CWI (1.3 ± 1.4°C) combined with cold air (−4.2 ± 8.5°C) exposure. Following CWI, students removed wet clothing, donned dry clothing, and entered sleeping systems. Core (Tc) and hand (Thand) temperatures were recorded continuously during the training exercise. Tc for 96 students (mean ± SD lowest Tc = 35.6 ± 0.9°C) revealed that 24 students (25%) experienced Tc below 35.0°C. All of 110 students (100%) experienced Thand below 15.0°C, with 71 students (65%) experiencing Thand at or below 8.0°C. Loss of hand function and hypothermia should be anticipated in warfighters who experience CWI in field settings. Given the high prevalence of low Thand, focus should be directed on quickly rewarming hands to recover function. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Douglas M. Jones Rebecca S. Weller Rebecca J. McClintock Nicholas Roberts Weimin Zheng Timothy L. Dunn |
author_facet |
Douglas M. Jones Rebecca S. Weller Rebecca J. McClintock Nicholas Roberts Weimin Zheng Timothy L. Dunn |
author_sort |
Douglas M. Jones |
title |
Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
title_short |
Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
title_full |
Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
title_fullStr |
Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
title_full_unstemmed |
Prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
title_sort |
prevalence of hypothermia and critical hand temperatures during military cold water immersion training |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 https://doaj.org/article/66e3fd489d0e4ba6a3bc4d47b6a0a450 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
genre_facet |
Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
op_source |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 82, Iss 1 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 https://doaj.org/toc/2242-3982 doi:10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 2242-3982 https://doaj.org/article/66e3fd489d0e4ba6a3bc4d47b6a0a450 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2236777 |
container_title |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
container_volume |
82 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1788694352885710848 |