Comparison between civilian burns and combat burns from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Objective: To assess outcome differences between locally burned civilians and military personnel burned in a distant combat zone treated in the same facility.

Summary Background Data: The United States Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) Burn Center serves as a referral center for civilians and is the sole center for significant burns in military personnel. We made the hypothesis that outcomes for military personnel burned in the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan would be poorer because of delays to definitive treatment, other associated injury, and distance of evacuation.