Operational morbidity analysis of soft tissue injuries during Operation TELIC.
Soft tissue injury accounted for one in five of all presentations to the Emergency Department (ED) during Operation TELIC (UK forces in Iraq) from March 2003 to November 2006. This ranks soft tissue complaints as the most frequent cause of attendance to a deployed field hospital ED. This paper analyses the injury patterns, together with implications for future clinical practice and operational planning to prevent injury, optimise patient care and maximize force regeneration.
Ollerton
J
J
Academic Department of Military Emergency Medicine, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Institute of Research and Development, Birmingham Research Park, Birmingham B15 2SQ. j.ollerton@doctors.org.uk
Hodgetts
T
T
Russell
R
R
D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D012307:Risk Factors; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology