BACKGROUND This study aims to compare health status and quality of life five years after a road accident between casualties with whiplash versus other mild injuries, to compare evolution of quality of life at 1 and 5 years after the accident, and to explore the relation between initial injury (whiplash vs. other) and quality of life. METHODS The study used data from the ESPARR cohort (a repre...

With chemical warfare becoming an imminent threat, medical systems need to be prepared to treat the resultant mass casualties. Medical preparedness should not be limited to the triage and logistics of mass casualties and first-line treatment, but should include knowledge and training covering the whole medical spectrum. In view of the unique characteristics of chemical warfare casualties the us...

This study describes the injuries, complications, functional limitations, and rehabilitative needs of amputees managed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the Persian Gulf conflict (1991). Fourteen amputees were treated sustaining 21 amputations with 18 lower-limb and 3 upper-limb amputations. In six casualties there were multiple amputations. Battle injuries were the cause in 79%. Nerve ...

Unfortunately, many persons are injured or killed during disasters. The problems of paper triage tags, which are widely used at disaster scenes, include an inability to show the current priorities of casualties and a failure to collect the physiological conditions of the casualties. To save lives, this paper proposes an electronic triage system that consists of two types of electronic triage ta...

INTRODUCTION Cervical spine fractures and dislocations are uncommon injuries that can have serious neurological consequences. These injuries require adequate stabilisation to prevent further spinal cord injury during transfer between hospitals. Evacuation often requires a combination of road ambulance, helicopter and fixed wing aircraft from military hospitals. This paper outlines the neck inju...

BACKGROUND US military burn casualties are evacuated to the US Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center in San Antonio, TX. Patients are transported by US Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Flight Teams, Air Force Critical Care Air Transport Teams, or routine aeromedical evacuation. This study characterizes the military burn casualties transported by each team and reports associate...

Heat illness in the Armed Forces is an emotive issue. No specific service-wide system currently exists to monitor the incidence of heat illness. Within British Forces Cyprus medical policy guidelines for physical activity at various Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) readings were issued in 1988. A local system for reporting heat casualties was introduced in August 1989. This paper examined retr...

Background: One of the medical team’s responsibilities is to teach the methods of rescue and aid necessary for casualties who have been injured in disasters. They must be taken away of the place of disaster, transferred, categorized and cured. Methods: Delphi technique was used in this research. Firstly, a number of questions were framed and sent to a number of experts of different majors. They...

A trial is reported in which RAMC staff working in a dressing station and wearing full NBC Individual Protective Equipment (IPE), attempted to take pulse and blood pressure (BP) readings on casualties similarly clad. These basic parameters however, were obtained from only half the casualties, the time taken to obtain them was prohibitive and the blood pressures were inaccurate. Certain remedies...