TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - The epidemiology of blast lung injury during recent military conflicts: a retrospective database review of cases presenting to deployed military hospitals, 2003-2009
JO  - Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
A1  - Smith, J. E.
SP  - 291
EP  - 294
VL  - 366
IS  - 1562
N2  - Blast injuries are becoming increasingly common in military conflicts as the nature of combat changes from conventional to asymmetrical warfare and counter-insurgency. This article describes a retrospective database review of cases from the UK joint theatre trauma registry from 2003 to 2009, containing details of over 3000 patients, mainly injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. During this period, 1678 patients were injured by explosion of whom 113 had evidence of blast lung injury. Of the 50 patients who survived to reach a medical facility, 80 per cent required ventilatory support. Injuries caused by explosion are increasing when compared with those caused by other mechanisms, and blast lung represents a significant clinical problem in a deployed military setting. Management of these patients should be optimized from point of wounding to definitive care.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0962-8436
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0251
ID  - ref1
ER  -