Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps
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Review Meta Analysis
Determining the wounding effects of ballistic projectiles to inform future injury models: a systematic review.
Penetrating wounds from explosively propelled fragments and bullets are the most common causes of combat injury experienced by UK service personnel on current operations. There is a requirement for injury models capable of simulating such a threat in order to optimise body armour design. ⋯ Injury models should use the PWT to delineate the area of damage to tissues from penetrating ballistic projectiles. The PWT, or its individual components, will require quantification in terms of the amount of damage produced by different projectiles penetrating these tissues. There is a lack of information qualifying the injurious effect of the temporary cavity, particularly in relation to that caused by explosive fragments, and future models should introduce modularity to potentially enable incorporation of these mechanisms at a later date were they found to be significant.
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Review Meta Analysis
Determining the wounding effects of ballistic projectiles to inform future injury models: a systematic review.
Penetrating wounds from explosively propelled fragments and bullets are the most common causes of combat injury experienced by UK service personnel on current operations. There is a requirement for injury models capable of simulating such a threat in order to optimise body armour design. ⋯ Injury models should use the PWT to delineate the area of damage to tissues from penetrating ballistic projectiles. The PWT, or its individual components, will require quantification in terms of the amount of damage produced by different projectiles penetrating these tissues. There is a lack of information qualifying the injurious effect of the temporary cavity, particularly in relation to that caused by explosive fragments, and future models should introduce modularity to potentially enable incorporation of these mechanisms at a later date were they found to be significant.
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The Combat Casualty Care research programme is an integrated suite of projects designed to address Defence Medical Services' research needs for casualty care. The programme covers a broad spectrum of topics ranging from the pathophysiological and immunological impact of military relevant injuries to the effects of these disturbances on the response to early treatment. ⋯ This article reviews progress in research areas spanning forward resuscitation, with a particular focus on blast-related injuries, trauma coagulopathy, effects of drugs on the response to haemorrhage and deployed research. A significant 'value added' component has been the underpinning of higher degrees for seconded military clinicians at Dstl Porton Down who have made a valuable contribution to the overall programme.
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Phantom limb pain affects between 50 and 80% of amputees. With an increasing number of battle casualties having had an amputation after combat trauma, it is inevitable that both primary and secondary care clinicians will come into contact with a patient with phantom limb pain (PLP). It is widely acknowledged that its complex aetiology means that this condition is often poorly understood and difficult to manage. ⋯ Knowledge of these mechanisms will inform treatment and enable clinicians to plan and implement solutions which make a difference to those individuals with this condition. This paper seeks to outline current research into this condition and proposes an approach to treatment. This approach has been formulated from an amalgamation of clinical experience working with battle casualties at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court.
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In 1984, Col. Ronald Bellamy launched a worldwide challenge to develop a new resuscitation fluid to aid survival after catastrophic blood loss on the battlefield. In 1996, after careful compromise among need, cube weight and efficacy, the US military and later coalition forces adopted 6% hetastarch (HES) fluids for early resuscitation. ⋯ We review the unique challenges of early battlefield resuscitation, why the 'Bellamy challenge' remains open and discuss a number of forward-looking strategies that may help to solve the problem. The first two pillars of resuscitation that we believe have not been adequately addressed are rescuing and stabilising the heart (and brain) and the vascular system. The 'ideal' resuscitation fluid needs to nurture the heart and body slowly back to health, and not 'shock' it a second time with unnatural colloids or large volumes of unphysiological saline-based solutions.