Military medicine
-
Language and cultural barriers are associated with poor health outcomes. Communication is arguably the most important variable associated with a successful educational and training Global Health Engagement (GHE) and often unrecognized even when attempts are made to address this barrier. Madagascar's GHE activity improved after the addition of local Malagasy translation to fully translated official French instruction.
-
Occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a critical concern for those serving in the U.S. Military. Work and mission requirements predispose members to significant sun exposure, while sun-protective behavior often comes second to mission accomplishment. Prior research implicated institutional practices and constraints as preventing the routine use of sun protection modalities, but no large-scale studies have assessed service members' perceptions regarding sun protection modalities available to them in their work environment or their daily sun protection practices. ⋯ U.S. Military personnel report higher rates of sunburn and lower rates of routine use of sun protection practices compared to a previously surveyed civilian population. The overall rates of sun protection use while in the work setting are low both overall and compared to reports of routine use during outdoor leisure activities. Reported rates of reminders to use sunscreen are low, suggesting that increased education regarding the risk of excessive sun exposure and tools for effective sun protection are still needed.
-
The standard issue clear or sun Military Combat Eye Protection (MCEP) is often inadequate in visually challenging training or combat environment. Intermediate-tinted lenses may offer a viable option for warfighters operating in dynamic visual conditions such as moving rapidly from bright sunny areas to darker building interiors in combat. Because the use of intermediate-tinted lenses has been delayed as a result of a potential negative impact on vision performance such as color perception, this investigation evaluated several commercially available intermediate-tinted lenses for operation performance during a U.S. military field training. Test lenses complied with all the requirements of the current MCEP except for the visible light transmittance (VLT) values that ranged between 32 and 62%. ⋯ Quality of vision and visual acuity decreased with darker lenses; however, the study lenses had insignificant impacts on pistol marksmanship and subjective acceptance. Our surveys indicated that Intermediate-tinted lenses were operationally acceptable and preferred over a standard issue MCEP. While more evaluations for color vision deficient subjects are needed, overall results suggest that commercially available intermediate-tinted lenses may be a viable option to enhance protection and performance in a visually dynamic combat environment.
-
This article describes how the U. S. Army developed a new ad hoc medical formation, named Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force for the Department of Defense (DoD) in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic in the Continental United States during the spring of 2020. We review the role of the DoD support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a part of Defense Support of Civilian Authorities.
-
A military soldier sustained a blast injury in Afghanistan, resulting in amputations and hemipelvectomy. He developed New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing E. coli bacteremia, soft-tissue infection, and sacral osteomyelitis. ⋯ He was successfully treated with tigecycline and cefiderocol. Cefiderocol is a novel siderophore-based cephalosporine developed to treat serious infections, including those caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales.