BASE Jumping in the Lauterbrunnen Valley: A Retrospective Cohort Study from 2007 to 2016.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Retrospective descriptive cohort study / case series of trauma incidents without a control group
PubMed 36833909 · doi:10.3390/ijerph20043214
What was done
A retrospective descriptive cohort study evaluated all BASE jumping incidents requiring medical or rescue care in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland, from 2007 to 2016. Data were collected from local Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) missions, regional hospital and level I trauma centre records, and local general practice visits. Recorded variables included jumper demographics, skydiving/BASE jumping experience, technique used, prehospital severity scores (NACA), and clinical trauma scores (AIS and ISS) to measure morbidity, mortality, and triage accuracy.
What was found
Patients were predominantly young, experienced male BASE jumpers. Estimated morbidity (injury risk) ranged from 0.05% to 0.2%, and fatality risk ranged from 0.02% to 0.08%. Prehospital undertriage was low, documented in 2 cases. Prehospital overtriage was high, with 73.2% of NACA 4–6 prehospital cases not qualifying for clinical major trauma.
Why it matters
This 10-year dataset characterizes trauma patterns in one of the world's most frequent BASE jumping locations, showing persistent fatality rates despite possible decreases in injury rates and substantial prehospital overtriage for high-velocity mechanisms.
Limits
The total number of patients/incidents (n) and the total jump denominator are not reported in the abstract. Data are retrospective, limited to a single geographical region, and reliant on local rescue and hospital records.
Cited by
- supports Wingsuit BASE jumping has a high fatality rate compared to other skydiving disciplines.