Amber L. Dougherty

BACKGROUND: U.S. servicewomen may be at greater risk of injury in future conflicts as they integrate into combat occupations. More than 1,000 servicewomen were wounded during military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some women sustained traumatic amputations, and research on their postinjury health is needed. OBJECTIVE: To describe acute care, complications, and health care utilization among servicewomen with combat-related amputations, comparing them with injured men. METHODS: In this retrospective matched-pairs study, women were identified from the Expeditionary Medical Encounter Database between 2003 and 2012 and matched with men on amputation injuries, injury severity, and age. Differences were assessed with nonparametric tests for paired data. RESULTS: Of 20 women identified for analysis, 13 received tourniquets, three were administered procoagulants, and six had massive transfusions. Women averaged 3.4 (SD = 1.6) postinjury complications, and the most frequent were heterotopic ossification (n = 17), posthemorrhagic anemias (n = 13), and bacterial wound infections (n = 10). Acute care and complications were similar among men. Women averaged more acute care days (M = 49.8, SD = 30.6) than men (M = 46.1, SD = 27.4) but fewer intensive care unit days (women: M = 2.6, SD = 4.0; men: M = 4.4, SD = 8.3). No statistical differences were observed. CONCLUSION: Postinjury care among servicewomen with combat-related amputations was comparable with servicemen, and complications were common. This information can aid providers and nursing staff in the management of these injuries.

Introduction: The ‘golden hour’ is a universal paradigm that suggests trauma patients have lower morbidity and mortality when provided with medical care within 1 hour after injury. The objective of this study was to examine whether transport time from point of injury to a military treatment facility (MTF) in-theatre was associated with patient-reported outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and quality of life (QOL), among US service members with combat-related injury. Methods: Participants were injured between March 2003 and March 2016 and completed standardised assessments of PTSD, depression and QOL for theWounded Warrior Recovery Project (WWRP) between January 2013 and November 2017. Multivariable regressions were used to assess the relationship between transport time (≤1 hour or >1 hour from injury to MTF) and positive screens for PTSD and depression, and QOL, respectively. Overall, 45.6% of participants (n=879) arrived at an MTF within 1 hour postinjury. About 8 years passed between when participants were injured on deployment and when they completed their first WWRP assessment. Approximately 48% of participants screened positive for PTSD and 51.3% for depression, with a mean QOL score of 0.513 (SD=0.150). After adjusting for covariates, transport time was not significantly associated with PTSD (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.38; p=0.77), depression (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.21; p=0.55) or QOL (β=0.009; p=0.38). Conclusion: Transport time was not associated with patient-reported outcomes among US service members with combat-related injury. These findings are important as we seek to understand how combat casualties may be affected by extended medical evacuation or transport times anticipated in future expeditionary operations.

Sex- and gender-based health disparities are well established and may be of particular concern for service women. Given that injured service members are at high risk of adverse mental and behavioral health outcomes, it is important to address any such disparities in this group, especially in regard to patient-reported outcomes, as much of the existing research has focused on objective medical records. The current study addressed physical and mental health-related quality of life, mental health symptoms, and health behaviors (i.e., alcohol use, sleep, and physical activity) among a sample of service women injured on deployment. Results indicate that about half of injured service women screened positive for a mental health condition, and also evidenced risky health behaviors including problematic drinking, poor sleep, and physical inactivity. Many of the mental and behavioral health variables demonstrated statistically significant associations with each other, supporting the relationships between psychological health and behaviors. Results provide additional evidence for the importance of access to integrated and effective mental healthcare treatment for injured service women and the need for screening in healthcare settings that address the multiple factors (e.g., mental health symptoms, alcohol use, poor sleep) that may lead to poor outcomes.

Primary objective: To examine the relationship between hearing protection and non-impact, blast-induced concussion in US military personnel. Research design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods and procedures: A total of 501 US service members from the Expeditionary Medical Encounter Database with hearing protection status reported either ‘worn’ or ‘not worn’ were eligible for analysis. Clinical records were reviewed for concussion diagnoses. Univariate and multiple logistic regressions were performed. Main outcomes and results: Overall, 270 (53.9%) service members sustained non-impact, blast-induced concussion and 231 (46.1%) sustained other blast injuries. Only 39.6% (107 of 270) of service members with concussion wore hearing protection at the point of injury compared with 61.0% (141 of 231) of those with other injuries (p < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, service members wearing hearing protection had significantly lower odds of concussion compared with those not wearing hearing protection (odds ratio = 0.42, 95% confidence interval = 0.29–0.62). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this preliminary study is the first to demonstrate that hearing protection is associated with lower odds of non-impact, blast-induced concussion. The benefits of using hearing protection in terms of force readiness could be significant since many service members wounded in recent conflicts were diagnosed with concussion.