Abstract

Extremity injuries occur frequently during warfare. While traditionally treated in definitive clinics, the future battlefield is projected to be different in a variety of ways, and there will likely be a shift towards prolonged field care (PFC) for treating extremity traumas. PFC is defined as field medical care that is applied beyond “doctrinal planning time-lines” by a tactical medical practitioner in order to decrease patient mortality and morbidity. At present, there is an urgent need to develop biologically focused technologies for treating extremity injuries in the PFC setting. Herein, the case is made for why rapid advancements in PFC is critical to achieve optimal care for injured Service members in the future, and important design criteria for developing next-generation biologically focused technologies. Finally, a case example—i.e., Gustilo Type III fracture—is presented to illustrate how these biologically focused technologies could be utilized to treat an extremity injury within a PFC environment.

Details

Title
Prolonged field care for traumatic extremity injuries: defining a role for biologically focused technologies
Author
Dolan, Connor P 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Valerio, Michael S 2 ; Lee, Childers W 3 ; Goldman, Stephen M 4 ; Dearth, Christopher L 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA; Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Bethesda, USA (GRID:grid.265436.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0421 5525) 
2  DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA (GRID:grid.265436.0); Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Bethesda, USA (GRID:grid.265436.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0421 5525) 
3  DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA (GRID:grid.265436.0); Brooke Army Medical Center, Center for the Intrepid, San Antonio, USA (GRID:grid.416653.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 0450 5663) 
4  DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, Bethesda, USA (GRID:grid.416653.3); Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Bethesda, USA (GRID:grid.265436.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0421 5525) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20573995
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-020-00117-9
ProQuest document ID
2486330181
Copyright
© This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.