Response to McEvoy et al., 2023, Cumulative Blast Exposure Estimate Model for Special Operations Forces Combat Soldiers.

Abstract

This letter to the editor is intended to highlight potential inaccuracies in a recent study published by McEvoy and colleagues (2023) describing a blast exposure model for special operations service members. Explosive weights for the breaching charges described appear inaccurate and may negatively impact future research or databases, as indicated by the authors future directions. Likewise, safety implications derived from this study may be misleading unless the calculation errors for net explosive weights and blast overpressure PSI are corrected. This response offers corrected calculations based on DoD explosive safety guidelines and commentary on future directions for blast exposure documentation and risk-mitigation.