Baker JB, Modlin RE, Ong RC, Remick KN.
J Spec Oper Med. Winter 2017;17(4):52-55.
ABSTRACT:The US Army Special Operations Command and Army Medical Command are at a critical junction in Army medical training. Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) will receive Forward Resuscitative Surgical Teams (FRSTs) in the near future and must establish a training model to enable successful support for ARSOF operations. The military has been directed by Congress through the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act to embed trauma combat casualty care teams in civilian trauma centers. ARSOF FRSTs should be embedded in the nation's leading civilian trauma centers to build and sustain true expertise in delivering trauma care on the battlefield. The SOF Truths provide
Benavides JM, Benavides LC, Hale DF, Lundy JB.
J Spec Oper Med. Fall 2017;17(3):46-50.
ABSTRACT:Theater Special Operations Force (SOF) medical planners have begun using Army Forward Surgical Teams (FSTs) to maintain a golden hour for U.S. SOF during Operation Freedom's Sentinel required adaptation in FST training, configuration, personnel, equipment, and employment to form Golden Hour Offset Surgical Treatment Teams (GHOST-Ts). This article describes one such FST's experience in Operation Freedom's Sentinel while deployed for 9 months in support of SOF in southern Afghanistan.
D'Angelo M, Losch J, Smith B, Geslak M, Compton S, Wofford K, Seery JM, Morrison M, Wedmore I, Paimore J, Gross K, Cuenca PJ, Welder MD.
J Spec Oper Med. Winter 2017;17(4):76-79
ABSTRACT:Improvements in surgical care on the battlefield have contributed to reduced morbidity and mortality in wounded Servicemembers. 1 Point-of-injury care and early surgical intervention, along with improved personal protective equipment, have produced the lowest casualty statistics in modern warfare, resulting in improved force strength, morale, and social acceptance of conflict. It is undeniable that point-of-care injury, followed by early resuscitation and damage control surgery, saves lives on the battlefield. The US Army's Expeditionary Resuscitation Surgical Team (ERST) is a highly mobile, interprofessional medical team that can perform damage control resuscitation and surgery in austere locations. Its configuration and capabilities vary; however, in general, a typical surgical element can perform one major surgery and one minor surgery without resupply. The critical care element can provide prolonged holding in garrison, but this diminishes in the austere setting with complex and acutely injured patients.
Garber K, Stewart BT, Burkle FM Jr, Kushner AL, Wren SM
Ann Surg. 2018 Jan 25. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002691.
No Abstract in PubMed
Pikoulis E, Salem KM, Avgerinos ED, Pikouli A, Angelou A, Pikoulis A, Georgopoulos S, Karavokyros I
Front Surg. 2017 Dec 19;4:73. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2017.00073. eCollection 2017.
ABSTRACT:Early management of vascular injury, starting at the field, is imperative for survival no less than any operative maneuver. Contemporary prehospital management of vascular trauma, including appropriate fluid and volume infusion, tourniquets, and hemostatic agents, has reversed the historically known limb hemorrhage as a leading cause of death. In this context, damage control (DC) surgery has evolved to DC resuscitation (DCR) as an overarching concept that draws together preoperative and operative interventions aiming at rapidly reducing bleeding from vascular disruption, optimizing oxygenation, and clinical outcomes. This review addresses contemporary DCR techniques from the prehospital to the surgical setting, focusing on civilian vascular injuries.
Reade MC, Brennan LB
Injury. 2017 Dec;48(12):2890-2892
No abstract on PubMed
Thaut LC, Murtha AS, Johnson AE, Roper JL
J Emerg Med. 2018 Jan 20. pii: S0736-4679(17)31184-8
BACKGROUND: The management of patients with impaled unexploded devices is rare in the civilian setting. However, as the lines of the traditional battlefield are blurred by modern warfare and terrorist activity, emergency providers should be familiar with facility protocols, plans, and contact information of their local resources for unexploded devices.
CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old male sustained a close-proximity blast injury to his lower extremities while manipulating a mortar-type firework. He presented to the regional trauma center with an open, comminuted distal femur fracture and radiographic evidence of a potential explosive device in his thigh. His management was coordinated with the local Explosive Ordinance Disposal and the fire department.
WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Explosive devices pose a grave threat when encountered. Familiarization with protocols to manage these patients can mitigate disaster. Emergency providers should expect and be prepared to coordinate care for these patients.
Janak JC, Sosnov JA, Bares JM, Stockinger ZT, Montgomery HR, Kotwal RS, Butler FK, Shackelford SA, Gurney JM, Spott MA, Finelli LN, Mazuchowski EL, Smith DJ
JAMA Surg. 2018 Feb 21. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2017.6105.
Importance: Military and civilian trauma experts initiated a collaborative effort to develop an integrated learning trauma system to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality. Because the Department of Defense does not currently have recommended guidelines and standard operating procedures to perform military preventable death reviews in a consistent manner, these performance improvement processes must be developed.
Objectives: To compare military and civilian preventable death determination methods to understand the existing best practices for evaluating preventable death.
Evidence Review: This systematic review followed the PRISMA reporting guidelines. English-language articles were searched from inception to February 15, 2017, using the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews (Ovid), PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Articles were initially screened for eligibility and excluded based on predetermined criteria. Articles reviewing only prehospital deaths, only inhospital deaths, or both were eligible for inclusion. Information on study characteristics was independently abstracted by 2 investigators. Reported are methodological factors affecting the reliability of preventable death studies and the preventable death rate, defined as the number of potentially preventable deaths divided by the total number of deaths within a specific patient population.
Findings: Fifty studies (8 military and 42 civilian) met the inclusion criteria. In total, 1598 of 6500 military deaths reviewed and 3346 of 19 108 civilian deaths reviewed were classified as potentially preventable. Among military studies, the preventable death rate ranged from 3.1% to 51.4%. Among civilian studies, the preventable death rate ranged from 2.5% to 85.3%. The high level of methodological heterogeneity regarding factors, such as preventable death definitions, review process, and determination criteria, hinders a meaningful quantitative comparison of preventable death rates.
Conclusions and Relevance: The reliability of military and civilian preventable death studies is hindered by inconsistent definitions, incompatible criteria, and the overall heterogeneity in study methods. The complexity, inconsistency, and unpredictability of combat require unique considerations to perform a methodologically sound combat-related preventable death review. As the Department of Defense begins the process of developing recommended guidelines and standard operating procedures for performing military preventable death reviews, consideration must be given to the factors known to increase the risk of bias and poor reliability.
Lane I, Stockinger Z, Sauer S, Ervin M, Wirt M, Bree S, Gross K, Bailey J, Hodgetts BT, Mann-Salinas E
Mil Med. 2017 Mar;182(S1):32-40
ABSTRACT:This article forms part of a series that will explore the effect that Role 2 (R2) medical treatment facilities (MTFs) had on casualty care during the military campaign in Afghanistan and how we should interpret this to inform the capabilities in, and training for future R2 MTFs. Key aspects of doctrine which influence the effectiveness of R2 MTFs include timelines to care, patient movement capabilities, and MTF capabilities. The focus of this analysis was to review allied doctrine from the United States, United Kingdom, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to identify similarities and differences regarding employment of R2 related medical assets in the Afghan Theater, specifically for trauma care. Several discrepancies in medical doctrine persist among allied forces. Timelines to definitive care vary among nations. Allied nations should have clear taxonomy that clearly defines MTF capabilities within the combat casualty care system. The R2 surgical capability discrepancy between United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization doctrine should be reconciled. Medical evacuation capabilities on the battlefield would be improved with a taxonomy that reflected the level of capability. Such changes may improve interoperability in a dynamic military landscape.
Smith S, Devine M, Taddeo J, McAlister VC
BMJ Open. 2017 Aug 7;7(7):e014697.
OBJECTIVE: To describe pattern 1 injuries caused by the antipersonnel improvised explosive device (AP-IED) in comparison to those previously described for antipersonnel mines (APM).
DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of 100 consecutive pedestrian victims of an AP-IED, with traumatic amputation without regard for gender, nationality or military status.
SETTING: Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan.
PARTICIPANTS: One hundred consecutive patients, all male, 6-44 years old.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The details of injuries were recorded to describe the pattern and characterise the injuries suffered by the target of AP-IEDs. The level of amputation, the level of soft tissue injury, the fracture pattern (including pelvic fractures) as well as perineal, gluteal, genital and other injuries were recorded.
RESULTS: Victims of AP-IED were more likely, compared with APM victims, to have multiple amputations (70.0% vs 10.4%; p<0.001) or genital injury (26% vs 13%; p=0.007). Multiple amputations occurred in 70 patients: 5 quadruple amputations, 27 triple amputations and 38 double amputations. Pelvic fracture occurred in 21 victims, all but one of whom had multiple amputations. Severe perineal, gluteal or genital injuries were present in 46 patients. Severe soft tissue injury was universal, with injection of contaminated soil along tissue planes well above entry sites. There were 13 facial injuries, 9 skull fractures and 3 traumatic brain injuries. Eleven eye injuries were seen; none of the victims with eye injuries were wearing eye protection. The casualty fatality rate was at least 19%. The presence of more than one amputation was associated with a higher rate of pelvic fracture (28.6% vs 3.3%; p=0.005) and perineal-gluteal injury (32.6% vs 11.1%; p=0.009).
CONCLUSION: The injury pattern suffered by the target of the AP-IED is markedly worse than that of conventional APM. Pelvic binders and tourniquets should be applied at the point of injury to patients with multiple amputations or perineal injuries.