TY - JOUR
T1 - The scope of wounds encountered in casualties from the global war on terrorism
T2 - From the battlefield to the tertiary treatment facility
AU - Mazurek, Michael T.
AU - Ficke, James R.
PY - 2006/9
Y1 - 2006/9
N2 - Injuries seen in Operation Iraqi Freedom range from those that can be managed with nonsurgical wound care only to those requiring amputation or multiple bony and soft-tissue procedures for limb salvage. The contamination and soft-tissue injury caused by exploding ordnance requires an aggressive treatment approach. Severe wounds treated near the battlefield (ie, level II) require meticulous surgical débridement, early fracture stabilization, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and rapid evacuation. Treatment at a level III combat support hospital involves a greater volume of patients and a longer stay because of the presence of Iraqi national patients. In the authors' experience, most US patients requiring surgical treatment were evacuated to a level IV facility (ie, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center) after one or two surgeries. The basic war surgery principles of aggressive resuscitation, early and thorough débridement, short-duration damage-control surgical procedures, and rapid evacuation were critical in our reduction of wound infection rates to below 7% for all admissions.
AB - Injuries seen in Operation Iraqi Freedom range from those that can be managed with nonsurgical wound care only to those requiring amputation or multiple bony and soft-tissue procedures for limb salvage. The contamination and soft-tissue injury caused by exploding ordnance requires an aggressive treatment approach. Severe wounds treated near the battlefield (ie, level II) require meticulous surgical débridement, early fracture stabilization, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and rapid evacuation. Treatment at a level III combat support hospital involves a greater volume of patients and a longer stay because of the presence of Iraqi national patients. In the authors' experience, most US patients requiring surgical treatment were evacuated to a level IV facility (ie, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center) after one or two surgeries. The basic war surgery principles of aggressive resuscitation, early and thorough débridement, short-duration damage-control surgical procedures, and rapid evacuation were critical in our reduction of wound infection rates to below 7% for all admissions.
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U2 - 10.5435/00124635-200600001-00005
DO - 10.5435/00124635-200600001-00005
M3 - Article
C2 - 17003195
AN - SCOPUS:34547641653
SN - 1067-151X
VL - 14
SP - S18-S23
JO - Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
IS - 10
ER -