title: Echelon I interventions and triage are effective and concordant with echelon II care in combat operations.
abstract: We describe identified injuries, effectiveness of treatment, and triage categories for combat casualties at echelon 1 from April 1 to June 30, 2005 from western Iraq. A total of 133 casualties were evaluated including 12 who were killed in action and 7 who died of wounds. A medic or corpsman treated 75% of the remaining patients, 9% were treated by bystanders, 2% were seen by a physician or physician assistant, and 15% administered self-aid. Most injuries (84%) were blast related. Commonly wounded regions were the head (47%), lower extremities (40%), upper extremities (22%), and back (11%). Common interventions included dressings (37%), splints (8%), and intramuscular morphine (8%). Field triage categories at echelon I and casualty evacuation categories at echelon II were congruent. No significant injuries were missed and there were no detrimental interventions. In conclusion, combat casualties were assessed, treated, and evacuated appropriately by echelon I providers during this time frame.
authors.affiliation: Denver Health Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, 777 Bannock St., Mail Code 0108, Denver, CO 80204, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Hurtado
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montoya
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014218:Triage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult