Low-Tech Solutions for Military Prehospital Medication Storage in Arctic Circumstances: A Feasibility Study.

INTRODUCTION

Preventing temperature stress on medication for prehospital medical care is a challenge, especially in re-source-limited environments like the Arctic. Most medication used by military prehospital providers is intended for storage between 15 and 25°C-defined as "controlled temperature." The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of storing medication within controlled parameters by a lightweight, highly mobile, and self-supporting Role 1 Medical Treatment Facility during cold weather operations.

METHODS

Within a standard cooling container, we placed three 1L water bottles filled with boiling water, which were reheated every morning. Over a period of 264 hours, we measured the inside and outside temperatures of the container and analyzed whether the inside temperature remained within the speci-fied parameters using two TempTale™ 4 temperature loggers.

RESULTS

We collected a total of 264 hours of data. The ambi-ent temperature was outside the controlled temperature range 94.5% of the time (248.5 hours). We recorded a minimum temperature of -12.5°C (9.5°F) and a maximum temperature of 27.3°C (81.1°F). The temperature measured inside the cool-ing container was within the controlled temperature range for 67.8% of the time (178.3 hours), with a minimum tempera-ture of 6.2°C (43.2°F) and a maximum temperature of 36.7°C (98.1°F).

CONCLUSION

The shift in focus to arctic military op-erations must be accompanied by efforts to optimize military arctic medical preparedness. During arctic warfare one of the biggest challenges is the low and uncontrollable temperature which can create significant stress on medical equipment. The demonstrated low-tech, easy-to-deploy solution is a first step to keep medication within controlled parameters in a mini-mally equipped Role 1 Medical Treatment Facility without reliance on running vehicles or electric/fuel-powered heating. This method not only lowered the team's logistical load but also reduced their thermal signature. This study paves the way for more research toward robust medical readiness in arctic military operations.