Abstract
To provide guidance to clinicians, theWildernessMedical Society convened an expert panel to develop evidence-
based guidelines for the out-of-hospital evaluation and treatment of victims of accidental hypothermia.
The guidelines present the main diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and provide recommendations
for the management of hypothermic patients. The panel graded the recommendations based on the quality
of supporting evidence and a balance between benefits and risks/burdens according to the criteria published
by the American College of Chest Physicians. The guidelines also provide suggested general approaches to
the evaluation and treatment of accidental hypothermia that incorporate specific recommendations. This is
the 2019 update of the Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for the Out-of-Hospital Evaluation
and Treatment of Accidental Hypothermia: 2014 Update.