Citation

Smith JE, Garner J. J. R. Army Med. Corps 2019; 165(1): 57-62.

Affiliation

Department of General Surgery, The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and Major Trauma Consultant, Sheffield Major Trauma Centre, Sheffield, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, UK Royal Army Medical Corps)

DOI

10.1136/jramc-2018-001058

PMID

30317218

Abstract

The majority of patients injured in the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were as a result of explosion, and terrorist incidents have brought blast injuries to the front door of many civilian hospitals that had not previously encountered such devastation. This article reviews the physics and pathophysiology of blast injury with particular relevance to the presentation and management of primary blast injury, which is the mechanism least familiar to most clinicians and which may cause devastating injury without externals signs.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Language: en

Keywords

blast injuries; blast lung injury; explosions; trauma