Respiratory Insufficieny in Combat Casualties

Transfusion-associated microchimerism in combat casualties.

BACKGROUND Fresh whole blood (FrWB) is routinely used in the resuscitation of combat casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. However, studies have shown high rates (20%-40%) of transfusion-associated microchimerism (TA-MC) in civilian trauma patients receiving allogenic red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. We explored the incidence of TA-MC in combat casualties recei...

Mass casualties in combat: lessons learned.

Fluid resuscitation in haemorrhagic shock in combat casualties

This brief update reviews the recent literature available on fluid resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock and considers the applicability of this evidence for use in resuscitation of combat casualties in the combat casualty care (CCC) environment. A number of changes need to be incorporated in the CCC guidelines: (1) dried plasma (DP) is added as an option when other blood components or whole blo...

Prevalence of tension pneumothorax in fatally wounded combat casualties.

BACKGROUND Tension pneumothorax is a potential cause of death in victims of penetrating chest trauma, but little is known about its actual prevalence. METHODS Data that are part of the Vietnam Wound Data and Munitions Effectiveness Team study were analyzed to address this question. Radiographs of 978 casualties were examined for evidence of tension pneumothorax using standard radiologic crite...

Acute compartment syndrome of the thigh in combat casualties.

Acute compartment syndrome of the thigh is a rare clinical entity often caused by high-energy trauma and presenting with a spectrum of associated injuries. Service members in combat are at risk for these causative mechanisms. This study presents a large cohort of thigh compartment syndrome combat casualties and investigates the injury mechanisms, associated mortality, and complications related ...