Military medicine
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Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common reasons military servicemen seek medical care during their line of duty. This study aims to review the clinical profile and outcomes of military personnel with inflammatory arthritis (IA) referred to a specialist rheumatology center in Singapore. ⋯ Servicemen with IA and good functional status can still be physically fit and deployable into certain combat and service support vocations. This will optimize manpower resources in military organizations with a shrinking young workforce.
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To evaluate the associations between neurocognitive and psychiatric health outcomes with mefloquine or any antimalarial exposure. ⋯ This study suggests that mefloquine use by veterans referred for intensive evaluation of their military deployment exposures and health was not associated with increased, long-term, neurocognitive/psychiatric symptoms compared to unexposed veterans.
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Medical direction has been the cornerstone to safe and effective prehospital and enroute care since the establishment of emergency medical services (EMS). Medical oversight by a physician has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in both settings. When the Navy Regional Office of the EMS Medical Director was established in 2016, it brought additional resources, including the addition of a paramedic and nurse EMS analyst and recruitment of additional local medical directors (LMDs). This, combined with the engagement of military leadership, allowed for expansion and improvement of medical direction in our prehospital and enroute care system and the establishment of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program. ⋯ Our results demonstrate that improvement in medical oversight in a large regional prehospital system can be achieved through persistence and engagement of nonmedical leadership.
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Military training that increases physical stress on musculoskeletal morphology also increases the risk of orthopedic injuries. Somatosensory prevention programs that reduce stress and improve functionality could be beneficial for better organization of tendon structure. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a somatosensory prevention exercise on the tendon structure (percentage of echo-type fibers; A-P and M-L diameters and cross-sectional area) of the Achilles tendon and patellar tendon among combat soldiers. ⋯ Increased damaged fibers (echo-type III and IV) of both tendons were found among the control group, yet not among soldiers who performed prevention exercises.
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The aim of this study was to determine the unique and combined associations of various military stress exposures with positive and negative mental health symptoms in active duty service members. ⋯ Military stressors may adversely influence self-reported symptoms of negative mental health, but deployment experience and combat exposure may confer stress inoculation.