Aviat Space Envir Md
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Oct 2012
Education and experience of Army flight medics in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Adequate training levels and an appropriate amount of continuing education for Army flight medics (AFM) is a highly contested topic. We sought to obtain a cross-section of the education, experience, and time spent by flight medics on patient care before and in between deployments. We also sought the opinions of AFM regarding training, transport staffing, and medical oversight. ⋯ Results from this study seem to indicate AFM feel their training and patient contact is too limited prior to and in between deployments. These findings support a need for the reassessment of initial and ongoing training standards for AFM in order to best take care of our sick and wounded service members.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Oct 2012
ReviewThe influence of nontraditional training modalities on physical performance: review of the literature.
The primary purpose of this effort was to review several forms of nontraditional (NT) training programs, including heavy lower extremity strength training, CrossFit training, kettlebell training, and agility training, and discuss the effects of these exercise regimens on physical performance. The secondary purpose was to evaluate NT fitness training programs for evidence that they may provide beneficial options to help airmen improve their fitness scores. A search of the literature for 1980-2010 was performed using the Franzello Aeromedical Library, Public Medicine, and Air Force Institute of Technology search engines. ⋯ Heavy leg strength training and agility training show promise in enhancing aerobic fitness and improving fitness scores, particularly among members who have difficulty passing a physical fitness test. Most of the nontraditional forms of physical training are not supported in the scientific literature, with the exception of heavy leg strength training and agility training. However, even these NT forms of training require further investigation.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Sep 2012
Pilot expertise and hippocampal size: associations with longitudinal flight simulator performance.
Previous research suggests that the size of the hippocampus can vary in response to intensive training (e.g., during the acquisition of expert knowledge). However, the role of the hippocampus in maintenance of skilled performance is not well understood. The Stanford/Veterans Affairs Aviation MRI Study offers a unique opportunity to observe the interaction of brain structure and multiple levels of expertise on longitudinal flight simulator performance. ⋯ These results are consistent with the notion that expertise in a cognitively demanding domain involves the interplay of acquired knowledge ('mental schemas') and basic hippocampal-dependent processes.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Aug 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialInfluence of posture on the regulation of cerebral perfusion.
Posture has a major influence on cerebral blood flow (CBF). Unlike head-up tilt (HUT), less is known about how CBF is regulated during head-down tilt (HDT). We hypothesized that CBF would be elevated during HDT and decreased during HUT. ⋯ Despite marked changes in perfusion pressure with HUT or HDT, our findings indicate that cerebral perfusion is well maintained during acute severe changes in posture.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Jul 2012
ReviewDifferences in cardio-ventilatory responses to hypobaric and normobaric hypoxia: a review.
The presence of differences in physiological response to a lowered inspired Po2 mediated by hypobaric hypoxia (HH) or normobaric hypoxia (NH) is controversial. This review examines the brief, acute, and subacute respiratory, cardiovascular, and subjective symptom response to intermediate and severe hypoxic exposure in NH and HH. ⋯ Explanations for the discrepancy between the two modalities include differences in ventilatory patterns, alveolar gas disequilibrium, and dissimilar acute hypoxic ventilatory responses. Awareness and consideration of these key differences between NH and HH is essential to their proper application to kinesiology, altitude, and aviation medicine.