An International Data Registration for Accidental and Immersion Hypothermia: The SARRRAH Project

Abstract

In the SARRRAH project (Search and Rescue, Resuscitation and Rewarming in Accidental Hypothermia), the progress of patients who suffered cardiac arrest in hypothermia is extensively documented. The SARRRAH project is devised by a medical workshop of the German Maritime Rescue Service (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger, DGzRS), and it is managed by the Department of Anaesthesiology at the University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, at the Lübeck campus. The project partnership includes the German Institute for Naval Medicine, the DGzRS, hospitals on the North and Baltic Sea coasts, several institutes of forensic medicine and German Seamen’s Mission. SARRRAH has been supported by the Seafarers’ Trust of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The aim of the SARRRAH project is to improve the chance of survival in cases of severe accidental hypothermia. For that reason, algorithms for resuscitation and rewarming, which are to be used under severe conditions, have been developed. The main objective of the training programme is the airway management by a modified combitube and active compression-decompression cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ACD-CPR) [1]. The rescue crews have been provided with appropriate equipment for real emergencies. The chief objective of the training programme is to initiate the resuscitation early at the scene, such as at sea and in the SAR helicopter. All preclinical and clinical data are documented and analysed for scientific reference [2]. The second aim of the SARRRAH project is the registration of hypothermia incidents.