Military medicine
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Incarceration-related predictors of later life disability in former prisoners of war (POWs) have not been previously described. The objective of this project was to identify aspects of POW incarceration which are associated with later life disability status. ⋯ Conditions of captivity and health concerns or emotional distress during captivity may contribute to long-term adverse health outcomes as measured by later life disabilities in individuals incarcerated as POWs.
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Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) is an uncommon congenital abnormality that occurs in 0.4 to 0.7% of postmortem examinations. Ninety percent of these anomalies are associated with an atrial septal defect. Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return occurs more commonly on the right than the left and is manifested by abnormal return of the pulmonary veins to the central venous circulation. ⋯ We submit the case of a recently activated solider who presented with dyspnea on exertion refractory to inhaled corticosteroids and an 8.5-mm solitary pulmonary nodule. Further diagnostic imaging revealed PAPVR. Our case appears to be the first report of a solitary pulmonary nodule as the initial presentation of a right upper lobe PAPVR with return to the superior vena cava in the absence of associated atrial septal defect.
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After years of conflict between Serbia and neighboring Kosovo, a full-blown war started in March 1999 when the Serbian and Yugoslav armies began a statewide military crackdown against ethnic Albanians and the Kosovo Liberation Army. Most ethnic Albanians were displaced to Macedonia or Albania. ⋯ Improvised lifesaving surgeries were performed with kitchen utensils serving as retractors at the field hospital. This article compares the treatment of patients between the two hospitals, and is the first article to date describing the war experience in general at the field hospitals in Kosovo.
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A comparative study was conducted on patients in military hospitals in response to recent studies at veterans hospitals showing the possibility that access to an equal-access health care system may reduce or reverse racial differences in mortality outcomes. Using a cohort study of 14,122 military retirees admitted to military hospitals with any of six common medical diagnoses between October 2000 and September 2004, we evaluated differences in patient and hospital characteristics and evaluated race-specific hospital mortality. Despite long-term equal access to comprehensive medical care, there were significant racial differences in patient- and hospital-level risk factors among male military retirees hospitalized with common medical diagnoses. In unadjusted analyses, risk of hospital mortality was significantly lower in African Americans and other non-Caucasians when compared to Caucasians, but differences disappeared after adjustment for all risk factors.
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Comparative Study
Occurrence of maltreatment in active duty military and nonmilitary families in the State of Texas.
This study compared the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary populations. Data came from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. All cases of child maltreatment substantiated from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2002, in the state of Texas were analyzed. ⋯ A greater proportion of caretakers of children in nonmilitary families compared with military families reportedly had financial problems (18.7% vs. 5.2%) and received public assistance (28.2% vs. 8.9%). The rate of occurrence of substantiated child maltreatment appears to be lower in military than nonmilitary families. The proportion of families with financial problems and public assistance is lower in military than nonmilitary families, suggesting that these factors may increase stress in families and the risk of maltreatment.