Military medicine
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The U.S. Army 28th Combat Support Hospital (CSH), an echelon III facility, deployed to Iraq at the start of military operations in 2003. Shortly after arrival, it was designated as the hospital primarily responsible for burn care for the U.S. military in Iraq. This report reviews the experience of the CSH with burn care during combat operations. ⋯ The CSH provided complex definitive care to burn patients in an austere environment. Predeployment identification of military field hospitals for such specialized missions, with early assignment of experienced personnel and materiel to these units, may improve future wartime burn care.
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The Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) project begun by the Naval Special Warfare Command and continued by the U. S. Special Operations Command developed a set of tactically appropriate battlefield trauma care guidelines that were initially published in 1996. ⋯ Present challenges to the optimized implementation of TCCC in U. S. combat units include the need to expedite transition of new TCCC techniques and technologies to deploying units, to provide TCCC training for all U. S. combatants, and to ensure adequate funding for the Committee on TCCC.
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Asthma is frequently diagnosed in military personnel despite strict guidelines that disqualify persons with active disease or a recent history of asthma. It is generally considered incompatible with military service, because of the regular physical training, outdoor training exercises, and deployments to remote locations. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of airway hyperreactivity in asymptomatic military personnel, as an estimate of subclinical reactive airway disease. ⋯ Asymptomatic airway obstruction has a prevalence of 14% in young military personnel. A significant percentage of individuals also have evidence of worsening obstruction during exercise. These data suggest that screening spirometry may identify early reactive airway disease in asymptomatic individuals and should be considered as a method to identify persons predisposed to developing symptomatic asthma.
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Previous research documented the elevated risk of suicide and suicidal ideation among Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of the current study was to examine which Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, PTSD symptom clusters are most associated with suicidal ideation in this population. ⋯ Furthermore, scores on a measure of severity of combat exposure were not found to be significantly related to PTSD symptoms or suicidal ideation. The results of this study suggest the importance of reexperiencing symptoms for predicting which individuals with combat-related PTSD are most at risk for suicidal ideation and behavior.
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Comparative Study
Severe lung contusion and death after high-velocity behind-armor blunt trauma: relation to protection level.
The most-used safety recommendation for protective vests is that the impact should not cause more than a 44-mm impression in plasticine. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this criterion was sufficient if the vest was exposed to a high-velocity projectile. We tested the hypothesis with pigs divided into a 40-mm group (n = 10) and a 34-mm group (n = 8) protected by a vest allowing a 40-mm or 34-mm impression in plasticine, respectively. ⋯ We observed severe lung hematoma, impaired circulation, desaturation, and electroencephalogram changes. These effects were more aggravated in the 40-mm group compared to the 34-mm group. Based on our results, the overall judgment is that the safety criterion of 44-mm impression is insufficient when a vest is exposed to a high-velocity projectile.