title: Advances in military resuscitation.
abstract: Trauma is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, in civilian environments and on the battlefield. Trauma-induced haemorrhage is the principal cause of potentially preventable death, which is generally attributable to a combination of vascular injury and coagulopathy. Survival rates following severe traumatic injury have increased due to advanced trauma management initiatives and treatment protocols, influenced by lessons learned from recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The use of tourniquets and intraosseous needles, early blood and blood product transfusion, administration of tranexamic acid in pre-hospital settings, and consultant-led damage control resuscitation incorporating damage control surgery have all played their part. All are quantified by trauma governance processes, including a robust trauma registry. Some of the lessons learned in combat are equally applicable to civilian environments, and this article describes several of the most important of these. It also gives an overview of advancements in UK military trauma management of severely injured combat casualties, honed over a decade of conflict.
authors.affiliation: Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service, emergency department, DMG (SW), Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: DMG (SW) Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.|Academic Department of Military Emergency Medicine, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (Research & Academia), Medical Directorate, Birmingham.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000346:Afghanistan; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000379:methods*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D008889:Military Personnel; D012151:Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000451:nursing*
keywords: damage control; emergency department; intraosseous; military; resuscitation