TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - Cold Injury in the United States Military Population: Current Trends and Comparison with Past Conflicts
JO  - Journal of Surgical Education
A1  - Hall, Anthony
A1  - Evans, Kendrix
A1  - Pribyl, Shea
SP  - 61
EP  - 65
VL  - 67
IS  - 2
N2  - OBJECTIVE: The war in Afghanistan represents the first large-scale conflict involving military troops in a cold, mountainous climate since the Korean War. An analysis was conducted to identify the extent of cold weather injuries, especially frostbite, in the deployed military population. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of military databases was conducted with tabulation of all cases of cold-weather injuries in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Casualties reviewed occurred between 2001 and 2009. SETTING: The 81st Medical Group at Keesler AFB. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 18,214 patients reported in the Joint Theater Trauma Registry (JTTR). RESULTS: Overall, 19 cases of cold-weather injury were identified in the Afghanistan Conflict. Two cases of frostbite were identified with only 1 likely requiring surgical intervention. No cases were identified in Iraq. CONCLUSION: The 19 cold-weather injuries represent a dramatic decrease from the 6300 cases of cold-weather injury reported in the last major cold-weather conflict, the Korean War. This decrease results from the shorter and weather-dependent engagements, cold-weather education, and improved equipment of United States and allied personnel.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1931-7204
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2010.02.003
ID  - ref1
ER  -