TUESDAY, Jan. 18, 2005 (HealthDayNews) -- New mobile military surgical units provide faster treatment for injured U.S. Marines and Iraqis, says a study in the January issue of the Archives of Surgery.
The study examined the effectiveness of six Forward Resuscitative Surgery System (FRSS) teams that treated 30 Marines and 60 Iraqis between March 21 and April 22, 2003. The teams treated only patients who required immediate care for life- or limb-threatening injuries.
During the study period, the teams conducted a total of 149 procedures, including 21 patients identified as critical. Of the treated injuries, 77 were penetrating and 64 percent occurred in patients' extremities. Seven of the Marines developed complications due to their injuries and there were three confirmed deaths among the Iraqi patients treated by the teams.
"The KIA (killed in action) and DOW (died of wounds) rates of 13.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, are lower than previous experiences, providing optimism that the FRSS works and is effective," the study authors wrote.
"The use of the FRSS allowed rapid access to surgical care from the point of wounding. The outcome for those treated at the FRSS was better than in previous conflicts, but the number of casualties treated was relatively small. The newly developed en route care system allowed the critically ill postoperative casualties to be transported to higher-level facilities and was vital to its success," the authors wrote.
The study was done by personnel at the First Medical Battalion/Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
More information
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has more about military medicine.
