Operational morbidity analysis: ophthalmic presentations during Operation TELIC.

AIM: This paper analyses all ophthalmic attendances to a deployed emergency department (ED) in Iraq to identify patterns of injury to optimise patient care, plan equipment tables for future operations and emphasise need for prevention of ocular morbidity. METHODS: The Academic Department of Military Emergency Medicine at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Birmingham maintains an electronic database with derails on all attendances to the emergency departments deployed on Operations. This Operational Emergency Department Attendance Register (OpEDAR) was searched for all patients with medical classification of Ophthalmology over a 52 month period between 1 March 2003 and 30 June 2007. RESULTS: During this period 30,195 patients were seen in the ED on Operation Telic and are available for analysis. Patients with ophthalmic complaints account for 5.3% of all presentations to the ED and rank as the 7th most common reason for attendance. CONCLUSION: This paper identifies patterns of injury to enable future planning of equipment tables and identifies the need for prevention of injury wherever possible. Implications on days lost from full active duty for the injured can be extrapolated. More data needs to be collated on the use of eye protection and the relevance of contact lenses in deployed personnel with eye injuries.

Hepatitis B infection following deployment to Angola.

We describe the clinical illness and long-term follow up of two British personnel who acquired hepatitis B infection during a 3-month UN mission to Angola. Medical officers need to be familiar with this viral illness, which may present in military personnel after any exercise in or deployment to the tropics or subtropics.

Determining the composition and benefit of the pre-hospital medical response team in the conflict setting.

AIM: To determine the optimal composition o f the pre-hospital medical response team (MERT) and the value of pre-hospital critical care interventions in a military setting, and specifically to determine both the benefit of including a doctor in the pre-hospital response team and the relevance of the time and distance to definitive care. METHOD: A comprehensive review of the literature incorporating a range of electronic search engines and hand searches of key journals. RESULTS: There was no level 1 evidence on which to base conclusions. The 15 most relevant articles were analysed in detail. There was one randomized controlled trial (level 2 evidence) that supports the inclusion of a doctor on MERT. Several cohort studies were identified that analysed the benefits of specific critical care interventions in the pre-hospital setting. CONCLUSIONS: A doctor with critical care skills deployed on the MERT is associated with improved survival in victims of major trauma. Specific critical care interventions including emergency endotracheal intubation and ventilation, and intercostal drainage are associated with improved survival and functional recovery in certain patients. These benefits appear to be more easily demonstrated for the rural and remote setting than for the urban setting.

Prospective study to evaluate the influence of FAST on trauma patient management.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have concentrated on the accuracy of Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST), but evaluation of whether FAST changes subsequent management has not been fully assessed. METHODS: This prospective study compared 419 trauma admissions in two groups, FAST and no-FAST, for demographics, time of resuscitation, and action after resuscitation. The 194 patients undergoing FAST had their management plan specified before, and confirmed after, FAST was performed to assess for change in management. To ensure scan consistency and to minimize bias, criteria were established to define an adequate FAST. RESULTS: FAST was performed in 194 patients (46%), assessing for free fluid. Management was changed in 59 cases (32.8%) after FAST. Laparotomy was prevented in 1 patient, computed tomography was prevented in 23 patients, and diagnostic peritoneal lavage was prevented in 15 patients. Computed tomography rates were reduced from 47% to 34% and diagnostic peritoneal lavage rates were reduced from 9% to 1%. CONCLUSIONS: FAST plays a key role in trauma, changing subsequent management in an appreciable number of patients.

Potential cervical spine injury and difficult airway management for emergency intubation of trauma adults in the emergency department--a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Emergency airway management for trauma adults is practised by physicians from a range of training backgrounds and with differing levels of experience. The indications for intubation and technique employed are factors that vary within EDs and between hospitals. OBJECTIVES: To provide practical evidence based guidance for airway management in trauma resuscitation: first for the trauma adult with potential cervical spine injury and second the management when a difficult airway is encountered at intubation. SEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY: Full literature search for relevant articles in Medline (1966-2003), EMBASE (1980-2003), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Relevant articles relating to adults and written in English language were appraised. English language abstracts of foreign articles were included. Studies were critically appraised on a standardised data collection sheet to assess validity and quality of evidence. The level of evidence was allocated using the methods of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

Emergency department response to the deliberate release of biological agents.

Bioterrorism is the use of biological agents outside the arena of war. Its purpose is to disrupt civilian life. This article investigates the role of the emergency department in the event of an act of bioterrorism.