Deployed research.
The Role 3 Medical Treatment Facility (Field Hospital) in Camp Bastion (R3 Bastion) is acknowledged to be one of the busiest dedicated trauma facilities in the world. Casualties typically present with severe injuries and in physiological extremis. These casualties form a unique cohort representing the most relevant population to evaluate the effectiveness of treating battlefield injuries as academic clinicians and scientists interested in trauma seek to improve outcomes for such patients in the future. This article describes four separate but related research projects that have been undertaken in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, over the last year. They traverse the spectrum of clinical research, ranging from data collection to a randomised control trial. The aim is to discuss some of the problems encountered and the solutions that made it possible to undertake research in a theatre of operations, thereby providing a starting point for others who may wish to initiate research in a similar environment.
Department of Military Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK.
Giles
G
Nordmann
Senior Lecturer, Department of Military Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK.
T
T
Woolley
Consultant in Transfusion Medicine Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK and NHS Blood and Transplant, Birmingham, UK.
H
H
Doughty
Director, Joint Inflam Modulation of Polytrauma Program, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, USA.
J
J
Dalle Lucca
Consultant, Intensive Care Medicine and Senior Lecturer in Critical Care, Medicine Kings College Hospital and Defence Medical Services, UK.
S
S
Hutchings
Principal Scientist, Biomedical Sciences, DSTL, Salisbury, UK.
E
E
Kirkman
D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000346:Afghanistan; D035843:Biomedical Research; D006268:Health Facilities; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D014857:Warfare
MEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAINING; PAIN MANAGEMENT; TRAUMA MANAGEMENT