Military medicine
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Blastocystis hominis is one of the most common intestinal parasites found in humans. The prevalence of B. hominis carriage in personnel who worked in the First Army Support Command, Chonburi, Thailand, was determined. Forty-four percent of 616 stool samples were positive for B. hominis using both simple smear and concentration (Formalin/ethyl acetate) techniques. ⋯ This finding indicates that they might have acquired B. hominis during their stay at this base. The significantly high prevalence of B. hominis carriage was found in the Ordnance Ammunition Battalion. In this battalion, privates who had education lower than the secondary school level had significantly greater risk of B. hominis carriage.
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Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are rare cutaneous diseases marked by substantial epidermal denudation and are often complicated by sepsis and multiple organ failure. They are most commonly caused by drug therapy. Patients afflicted with these diseases require care that may exhaust the capabilities of medicine wards and medical intensive care units alike; however, their mortality is reduced when treated at burn centers, which are better equipped to treat extensive skin denudation. We report a case of TEN and propose an algorithm to provide guidance for making the critical decision to transfer patients with SJS and TEN to burn units.
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War is the ultimate form of human relations. From a Christian and Jewish point of view, it negates the most important of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shallt not kill." Is it pure illusion to believe that war may be subject to legal rules? Was Cicero possibly right when he wrote inter arma silent leges (in war, the law is silent)? The horrors of wars in the last decades have made it clear that Cicero's approach would lead us to the ultimate catastrophe, simply because the destructive potential of modern weaponry is so overwhelming that we need rules governing warfare. ⋯ Finally, we would like to show ways to implement Law of Armed Conflict in peacetime and during armed conflict. Where appropriate, reference is also made to the complementary body of human rights law and to standards of medical ethics.
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A realistic approach to humanitarian principles in the field of the Law of Armed Conflict should take into account "military necessity." Does military necessity also play a role in the medical field? The provisions regarding the treatment of the wounded and sick seem definite because they are at the core of International Humanitarian Law. The conduct of military medical personnel, the attention to be paid to the wounded and sick, as well as to medical equipment or facilities are provisions that derive from unyielding principles of care, respect, protection, and equality of treatment. To what extent may this analysis be considered as contrary to the common realism of LOAC? How far should medical personnel be requested to implement the Geneva standards in any circumstance? In fact, unless otherwise specified, military necessity can never lead to a reduction in these standards in the course of battle.