Military medicine
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War-related burns are common injuries, also among the civilian population. Additional trauma such as fractures or shrapnel wounds may add significant morbidity. Burn injuries in war zones are furthermore frequently undertreated and hence prone to complications. We report a case of a young female victim of war, whose severely infected burn wounds could be successfully healed using a combination of targeted antimicrobial therapy, wound conditioning using decellularized fish skin, and subsequent skin grafting.
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Traumatic aniridia from combat ocular trauma can cause visual disability. A 41-year-old male Army Veteran was referred for evaluation of light sensitivity and glare secondary to subtotal traumatic aniridia of his left eye from an improvised explosive device blast. ⋯ After surgery, the patient reported improvement of his light sensitivity and quality of life. The custom iris prosthesis is a surgical option for visual disability resulting from traumatic aniridia from combat ocular trauma.
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Noncompressible torso hemorrhage (NCTH) accounts for most potentially survivable deaths on the battlefield. Treatment of NCTH is challenging, especially in far-forward environments with limited capabilities. Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) has shown promise in the care of patients with NCTH. REBOA involves introducing a balloon catheter into the descending aorta in a specific occlusion region (zones 1, 2, or 3) and acts as a hemorrhage control adjunct with resuscitative support. The balloon is placed in zone 3 in the infrarenal aorta for high junctional or pelvic injuries and in zone 1 proximal to the diaphragm for torso hemorrhage. Zone 1 REBOA provides more resuscitative support than zone 3; however, the potential for ischemia and reperfusion injuries is greater with zone 1 than with zone 3 REBOA placement. This study aims to determine the possible benefit of transitioning the REBOA balloon from zone 3 to zone 1 to rescue a patient with ongoing venous bleeding and impending cardiovascular collapse. ⋯ In this swine model of NCTH, hemodynamics and survival were improved when the REBOA balloon was transitioned from zone 3 to zone 1 during an impending cardiovascular collapse. Furthermore, these improved outcome data support the pursuit of additional research into mitigating ischemia-reperfusion insult to the abdominal viscera while still providing excellent resuscitative support, such as intermittent or partial REBOA.
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The Falklands Campaign was fought a significant distance from the home base of the British Fleet. The planning and delivery of medical care during this campaign can provide significant lessons for strategic medical planning in other far spread geographic locations, including the Indo-Pacific region. ⋯ S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.
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The number of women in the military has more than tripled over the past 50 years, increasing from 5% in the 1970s to 17% in 2023, making them essential for global health engagement and military operations. Provider competence and confidence are barriers to the consistent availability of preventive, gynecologic, and reproductive services for women across service locations and duty platforms. The Defense Health Board recommends standardizing services and improving the availability and scope of services for women at every point of care. ⋯ The WHNP curriculum was layered onto the existing Family Nurse Practitioner program so that Family Nurse Practitioner students receive enhanced education in women's health and WHNP students are prepared to meet the holistic, primary care needs of patients across the lifespan in addition to caring for women with obstetric and urogenital health concerns. This article highlights the value of dual-certified Family Nurse Practitioners and WHNPs in the military health-care system. These Uniformed Services University alumni are uniquely prepared to provide comprehensive primary and specialty care for female warfighters across the lifecycle from stable, well-resourced duty stations to austere, operational settings or deployment platforms.