Critical care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
BACKGROUND
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is the largest U.S. medical facility outside the United States, and it is the first permanently positioned hospital outside the combat zone providing care to the wartime sick and wounded. As of November 2007, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center personnel have treated over 45,000 patients from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The current trauma/critical care service is a multidisciplinary, intensivist-directed team caring for a diverse range of clinical diagnoses to include battle injuries, diseases, and nonbattle injuries. Admissions arise from an at-risk population of 500,000 widely distributed over a geographic area encompassing three continents.


CONCLUSIONS
When compared with 2001, the average daily intensive care unit census has tripled and the patient acuity level has doubled. Combat casualties account for 85% of service admissions. The clinical practice at this critical care hub continues to evolve as a result of wartime damage control trauma care, robust critical care air transport capabilities, length of stay, and other unique factors. The service's focus is to optimize patients for an uneventful evacuation to the United States for definitive care and family support.


CONCLUSIONS
Successful verification in 2007 as an American College of Surgeons level II trauma center reflects a continuing institutional commitment to providing the best possible care to the men and women serving our nation in the global war on terror.
Fang
Raymond
R
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany. Raymond.Fang@amedd.army.mil
Pruitt
Valerie M
VM
Dorlac
Gina R
GR
Silvey
Stephen V
SV
Osborn
Erik C
EC
Allan
Patrick F
PF
Flaherty
Stephen F
SF
Perello
Michelle M
MM
Wanek
Sandra M
SM
Dorlac
Warren C
WC
D000346:Afghanistan; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D005858:Germany; D006772:Hospitals, Military / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007493:Iraq; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D023481:Terrorism; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States