Military medicine
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Critical Care Air Transport Teams (CCATTs) have evolved as a vital component of the U. S. Air Force's aeromedical evacuation system. ⋯ Explosive blasts were the top mechanism of injury for patients requiring CCAT. The distribution of injuries and illnesses requiring CCAT appear to have changed compared to previous conventional conflicts. Understanding the epidemiology of casualties evacuated by CCATT during modern warfare is a prerequisite for the development of effective predeployment training to ensure optimal outcomes for critically ill and injured warriors.
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Servicewomen's reproductive health experiences during deployment are important given that the majority of women in the U. S. military are of reproductive age and that this population experiences a disproportionately high rate of unintended pregnancy. Few studies have explored women's reproductive health experiences and their perceived barriers and facilitators to health care access during deployment. ⋯ Participants identified a range of barriers to accessing medical care in deployment settings, including confidentiality concerns, lack of female providers, and health-seeking stigma, which were reported to disproportionately impact reproductive health access. Some participants experienced challenges obtaining contraceptive refills and specific contraceptive methods during deployment, and only a few participants received predeployment counseling on contraception, despite interest in both menstruation suppression and pregnancy prevention. These findings highlight several policy and practice changes that could be implemented to increase contraceptive access and reduce unintended pregnancy during deployment, including mandated screening for servicewomen's contraceptive needs before operational duty and at least annually, and increasing the number of female providers in deployed settings.
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Soldiers lose muscle and bone density during sustained operations. We investigated the impact of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) on bone properties, muscle mass, and markers of skeletal muscle regeneration under simulated military sustained operations. ⋯ HMB intake improved bone properties and attenuated the depression of protein synthesis during a simulated sustained military operation.