Abstract
The study of wilderness medicine is within the scope of medical care in the austere
environment and addresses medicine as practiced in the setting of delayed access to
definitive medical care, hostile environment, limited equipment, and inherent risks
to the patient and/or rescuers. Part of this topic includes the care of patients with
neurologic illness and/or injury.
We will address the five most important skills of a wilderness medicine professional:
decision making, prevention, preparation, protocol development, and education by applying
the principles to select common neurologic problems that occur in the extended environment:
traumatic brain injury, dehydration, hyponatremia, heat illness, hypothermia, spine
injury, and lightning injury. We will focus on the most pertinent aspects of wilderness
medicine: signs and symptoms, initial stabilization and treatment, evacuation, and
extended care.
An astute wilderness medicine specialist brings environmental and medical skill sets
together to know when it is better to treat in the field and when evacuation, with
its inherent risks to the patient and rescuers, is unavoidable.
Keywords
wilderness - austere - medicine - neurology - evacuation - extended treatment
