US Military Medical Research Articles

Description of trauma among French service members in the Department of Defense Trauma Registry: understanding the nature of trauma and the care provided

BackgroundSince 2001, the French Armed Forces have sustained many casualties during the Global War on Terror; however, even today, there is no French Military trauma registry. Some French service members (SMs) were treated in US Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and were recorded in the US Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DoDTR). Our objective was to conduct a descriptive analysis of the injuries sustained by French SMs reported in the DoDTR and subsequent care provided to them to assist in understanding the importance of building a French Military trauma registry.MethodsUsing DoDTR data collected from 2001 to 2017, a retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted. We identified 59 French SMs treated in US MTFs. The characteristics of the SMs’ demographics, injuries, care provided to them, and discharge outcomes were summarized.ResultsAmong the 59 French SMs identified, 46 (78%) sustained battle injuries (BIs) and 13 (22%) sustained nonbattle injuries (NBIs). There were 47 (80%) SMs injured in Afghanistan (Opération Pamir), while 12 (20%) were injured in Opération Chammal in Iraq and Syria. Explosives accounted for 52.5% of injuries, while 25.4% were due to gunshot wounds; all were BIs. The majority of reported injuries were penetrating (59.3%), most of which were BIs (71.7%). The mean Injury Severity Score for BIs was 12 (SD = 8.9) compared to 6 (SD = 1.7) for NBIs. Around half of SMs (n = 30; 51%) were injured in Afghanistan between the years 2008–2010. Among a total of 246 injuries sustained by 59 patients, extremities were the body part most prone to BIs followed by the head and face. Four SMs died after admission (6.8%).ConclusionsThe DoDTR provides extensive data on trauma injuries that can be used to inform injury prevention and clinical care. The majority of injuries sustained by French SMs were BIs, caused by explosives, and predominantly occurring to the extremities; these findings are similar to those of other studies conducted in combat zones. There is a need to establish a French Military trauma registry to improve the combat casualty care provided to French SMs, and its creation may benefit from the DoDTR model.

US Military Medical Missions in Iraq and Southeast Asia

US Military Medical Missions in Iraq and Southeast Asia

US Military Medical Support After the Earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua

US Military Medical Support After the Earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua

US Military Medical Support After the Earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua

US Military Medical Support After the Earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua

US Military Medical Missions in Iraq and Southeast Asia

US Military Medical Missions in Iraq and Southeast Asia

Body Composition and Physical Fitness in a Cohort of US Military Medical Students

Medical school requires that students balance academic schedules with other lifestyle demands, including nutrition, physical fitness, and wellness. We retrospectively reviewed trends in body composition and physical fitness of a cohort of military medical students attending the Uniformed Services University. Although students were able to maintain muscular endurance and body composition, cardiorespiratory endurance, as measured by a timed 1.5-mile run, declined significantly over a 2-yr period.

The sword and the scalpel--the osteopathic 'war' to enter the Military Medical Corps: 1916-1966.

This article examines the 50-year struggle of osteopathic physicians to gain entry into the US Military Medical Corps on the same basis as allopathic physicians. The author explores various arguments put forth by both physician groups, as well as those arguments presented by the respective surgeons general and relevant government officials.

Danger in Many Forms Lurks Around US Military Medical Bases in Bosnia

RENEWED fighting among warring factions in the former Yugoslavia is a continuing threat to US military medical and other personnel supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) peace-enforcement effort. But there are other dangers as well. NATO troops patrol in convoys of at least 4 vehicles, supported by heavy weapons, and await efforts of an estimated 170 000 refugees to return to the 4-km demilitarized area between Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. Military medical people from the United States and other NATO member countries are standing by, taking care of the various illnesses and other problems that arise in their soldier populations and hoping that they will not be called on to treat battle casualties. In the meantime, there are concerns about land mines—2 local women accidentally triggered a mine near a US base in Bosnia-Herzegovina recently, resulting in the death of one and serious injury of the other—rabies and

US Military Medical Presence Increases in Bosnia

OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES in the former Yugoslavia are expected to rise into the low teens Celsius (50s Fahrenheit) next month. This raises US military physicians' concerns about rodent-and insect-borne diseases that might join other threats to the health of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) peace enforcers there. A disease threat-assessment team from the 520th Theater Army Medical Laboratory, US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen (Md) Proving Ground, deploys to Bosnia-Herzegovina this month to target environmental health risks and advise US military commanders about how to respond. So far, cold weather, land mines, and poor sanitary conditions in the area have been the major health and safety concerns. One US soldier has died of an apparent heart attack and two have been seriously injured, one by a land mine and the other by electrical current that arced from a power line above the train transporting him to Bosnia.

US Military Medical Support Continues as Future of United Nations in Former Yugoslavia Is Debated

US Military Medical Support Continues as Future of United Nations in Former Yugoslavia Is Debated

US Military Medical Teams Begin Third Year of United Nations Support in War-Torn Balkans

TOMORROW marks the beginning of the third year for US military medicine's operation of the United Nations (UN) hospital in the former republic of Yugoslavia. It was November 10, 1992, when an advance team of medical and support personnel from the 212th Mobile (US) Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) arrived in Zagreb, Croatia, from Germany to set up the facility at Camp Pleso near the city's airport to care for UN peacekeepers. The 502nd MASH, also from US Army posts in Germany, Belgium, and Italy, succeeded the 212th MASH 6 months later. The US Air Force's 48th Medical Group Hospital from RAF (Royal Air Force base) Lakenheath, England, then operated the Zagreb facility from September 1993 until the US Navy's Fleet Hospital 6 took over March 17 ( JAMA . 1994;271:894). Another US Navy mobile medical unit, Fleet Hospital 5, arrived 11 weeks ago and will operate the UN facility until mid-February 1995.

In War-torn Balkans, US Military Medical Support Nears 2-Year Mark

In War-torn Balkans, US Military Medical Support Nears 2-Year Mark