Lessons learned from the casualties of war: battlefield medicine and its implication for global trauma care

According to the Global Burden of Disease, trauma is now responsible for five million deaths each year. High-income countries have made great strides in reducing trauma-related mortality figures but low–middle-income countries have been left behind with high trauma-related fatality rates, primarily in the younger population. Much of the progress high-income countries have made in managing trauma rests on advances developed in their armed forces. This analysis looks at the recent advances in high-income military trauma systems and the potential transferability of those developments to the civilian health systems particularly in low–middle-income countries. It also evaluates some potential lifesaving trauma management techniques, proven effective in the military, and the barriers preventing these from being implemented in civilian settings.

Source: JRSM - March 19, 2015 Category: UK Health Authors: Chatfield-Ball, C., Boyle, P., Autier, P., van Wees, S. H., Sullivan, R. Tags: Review Source Type: research