Military medicine
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This study aims to examine whether having a sibling and/or a parent on active duty in the military is associated with suicidality-think about death, better off dead, think about suicide, plan suicide, and attempt suicide-among 12- to 17-year-old adolescent girls and boys in the United States. ⋯ Those working clinically with military families should be mindful of the association between suicidality and sibling military service, as well as parental military service. Programs aiming to reduce the negative impact of sibling deployment need to be developed and tested empirically. The current findings suggest the need for targeted family-centered approaches to suicide prevention among youth with siblings, parents, and potentially other relatives currently serving in the armed forces.
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Lower extremity fractures and musculoskeletal injuries are among the leading causes of morbidity for Special Operations Forces (SOF), frequently resulting in prolonged immobilization and weeks of therapeutic exercises and strength training to return to full status. This is a case of a 34-year-old Caucasian combat rescue officer with a stable right distal fibula (Weber B) fracture managed with early mobilization and assisted plantarflexion using a Dephy Exoboot device. ⋯ This case highlights the novel use of a commercially available exoskeleton device to minimize recovery time and speed return to duty for an injured SOF operator. Although further study is required to determine thresholds of safety and applicability, it suggests a potential role for assistive exoskeleton devices in the recovery of injured operators.
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The U. S. Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act expands benefits and services to U. ⋯ U. S. Veteran health care and policy are strengthened and informed by collaborative scientific knowledge, research, and innovation generated by bringing together stakeholders for effective implementation and sustained improvement of Veterans' health.
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Chronic pain is a significant risk factor for suicide, especially among Veterans. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety (i.e., the occurrence of suicidal behavior after treatment) and tolerability (i.e., treatment completion) of a Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (Brief CBT-CP) group in primary care among a sample of Veterans with chronic noncancer pain deemed to be at an increased risk for suicide. ⋯ Brief CBT-CP appears to be a safe and well-tolerated treatment for Veterans with chronic noncancer pain who are also at risk for suicide.
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The 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas War, which began following a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has seen a case fatality rate (CFR) among the lowest in the history of warfare. In resultant ground maneuvers, the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) doctrine for the delivery of combat casualty care has been battle tested. We suggest the decreased CFR in part reflects a paradigm shift in combat deployment of medical resources, so as to introduce life-saving strategies not previously seen on the battlefield in large scale to date. ⋯ These forward medical teams have replaced the battalion aid station in the Gaza theater of operations and serve to increase the availability of Advanced Life Support (ALS) level care at the point of injury, wherever a casualty might be on a multidimensional battlefield. These forward medical teams deploy with advanced medical capabilities, including in some cases the ability to transfuse low titer O whole blood. This article reviews aspects of the IDF-MC combat casualty care doctrine as implemented during the current war, the role and advantages of transfusion-capable ALS forward medical teams, and the apparent impact on the CFR thereof.