Military medicine
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Exertional heat stroke (EHS), which presents with extreme hyperthermia and alteration to the central nervous system, disproportionately affects the military, where warfighters are expected to perform in all types of environmental conditions. Because of an incomplete understanding of individualized recovery from EHS, there are several shortcomings with the current guidance on return to duty (RTD) following an EHS. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide an updated literature review of best practices for return to duty following EHS to guide decision making regarding EHS and explore areas of future research for medical staff who work with warfighters. ⋯ EHS has a high morbidity and mortality rate if not treated rapidly. Because the extent of end-organ damage is dependent on the amount of time that the individual is hyperthermic, rapid diagnosis via rectal thermometry, and efficient cooling methods are imperative to the wellbeing of EHS patients. Following EHS, gradual RTD recommendations within the limits of operational demand should be implemented to reduce the risk for a subsequent heat injury event. While many versions of HTT, most notably the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) protocol, have been created to guide RTD recommendations, a universal assessment for heat tolerance has yet to be adopted. As such, medical personnel should apply a multifactorial approach to ensure safe RTD.
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Previous conflicts have demonstrated the impact of physician readiness on early battlefield mortality rates. To prepare for the lethal nature of today's threat environment and the rapid speed with which conflict develops, our medical force needs to sustain a high level of readiness in order to be ready to "fight tonight." Previous approaches that have relied on on-the-job training, just-in-time predeployment training, or follow-on courses after residency are unlikely to satisfy these readiness requirements. Sustaining the successes in battlefield care achieved in Iraq and Afghanistan requires the introduction of effective combat casualty care earlier and more often in physician training. This needs assessment seeks to better understand the requirements, challenges, and opportunities to include the Military Unique Curriculum (MUC) during graduate medical education. ⋯ Current Military Unique Curricula do not meet the expected requirements of future battlefields. Several solutions to incorporate more robust military unique training without creating any significant additional time burdens for trainees do exist. Despite the limitation of these results being limited to a single institution, this needs assessment provides a starting point for improvement to help ensure that we limit the impact of any "peacetime effect."
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Soft tissue injuries are common in the military, generally producing simple hematomas without the need for intensive evaluation and management. In certain situations, a shearing effect between fascial planes whereby a disruption of the vasculature and lymphatic systems creates a "closed degloving injury" is more generally referred to as a Morel-Lavallée Lesion (MLL). ⋯ Prior cases describe chronic MLLs existing for extended periods of time, in some cases years, requiring operative intervention, and in some cases poor outcomes. We present two cases of active duty soldiers presenting with seemingly innocuous injuries found on closer evaluation to have MLL, treated in one case with needle aspiration and compression, in the other with operative management.
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Comparative Study
A Comparison of Uniformed Services University and Health Professions Scholarship Program Graduates' First Deployment Readiness.
Military physicians must be prepared to lead health care teams across complex landscapes of war during future small- and large-scale combat operations. This preparation optimally begins in medical school so that early career physicians are fully ready for their first deployment. Past qualitative research has suggested that military physicians who attended civilian medical school are not as well prepared for the operational environment as physicians who attended the Uniformed Services University (USU), our nation's military medical school. However, there is a lack of larger-scale quantitative research comparing the readiness differences between the two medical school pathways. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to quantify any differences in first deployment preparation between students attending USU and civilian medical schools through the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). ⋯ While both groups believed that they were prepared for their first deployment, USU graduates consistently reported being more prepared by medical school for their first deployment than HPSP graduates. To close this readiness gap, supplemental military unique curricula may help to optimize HPSP students' readiness.
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Insomnia affects approximately 40% of active duty service members and adversely affects health, readiness, and safety. The VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the management of insomnia recommends cognitive-behavioral treatment of insomnia (CBTI) or its abbreviated version (brief behavioral treatment of insomnia [BBTI]) as the first-line insomnia treatment. The goal of this study was to assess CBTI/BBTI resources at MTFs, perceived facilitators and barriers for CBTI/BBTI, and gaps in these treatments across the Defense Health Agency. ⋯ Although there is a wide recognition that CBTI/BBTI is the first-line recommended insomnia treatment, the limited scalability of treatment protocols, clinical workflow limitations, and scarcity of trained CBTI/BBTI providers limit the implementation of the VA/DoD clinical guideline. Educating and engaging health care providers and leadership about CBTI, augmenting CBTI-dedicated resources, and adapting clinical workflows were identified as specific strategies needed to meet the current insomnia care needs of service members. Developing protocols for scaling the availability of CBTI expertise at diverse points of care, upstream from the sleep clinics, could accelerate access to care. Establishing standardized quality measures and processes across points of care, including for external providers and self-help apps, would enhance providers' confidence in the quality of insomnia care offered to service members.