Military medicine
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Field anesthesia machine ventilators powered by compressed gas are designed for remote locations that may lack a pipeline supply of O2. This study determined the O2 consumption of the compPAC ventilator powered by E cylinders when ventilating the Vent Aid Training Test Lung model of high (HC) and low (LC) pulmonary compliance. Consumed O2 was calculated after measuring the mass of O2 depleted from the E cylinder. ⋯ O2 consumption was directly proportional to V(T) and inversely proportional to compliance. The amount of O2 consumed by the ventilator ranged from 2.19 (interquartile range [IQR] 2.18-2.26) L/min in the HC-500 mL V(T) group to 3.76 (IQR 3.76-3.79) L/min in the HC-1000 mL V(T) group (P = 0.027) and from 2.63 (IQR 2.60-2.66) L/min in the LC-500 V(T) mL group to 4.89 (IQR 4.81-5.05) L/min in the LC-1000 mL V(T) group (P = 0.027). The volume of ventilator drive gas was less than minute ventilation (V(E)) in all groups.
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Although studies have examined the relation between military-related noise and hearing, comprehensive data to calculate rates of hearing loss across all Services and to determine economic impact are lacking. The goal of the multiphase Department of Defense (DoD) Epidemiologic and Economic Burden of Hearing Loss (DEEBoHL) project is to examine rates of hearing impairment and noise-induced hearing injury, relevant noise exposures, and to determine the economic burden of these outcomes to the DoD and Service Members. ⋯ The study is led by a multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and The Geneva Foundation, with guidance from experts who make up the study advisory board. In this article, we focus on an overview of the DEEBoHL study, the methods for the first aim of this effort, and describe future plans for the study.