Preliminary study of hearing protection and non-impact, blast-induced concussion in US military personnel.

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.

Treatment of Mental or Physical Health Problems in a Combat Zone: Comparisons of Postdeployment Mental Health and Early Separation From Service.

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether being treated for mental health or nonbattle physical injury during military combat deployment was associated with higher risk for postdeployment mental disorders and poorer career outcomes than seen in the general combat-deployed population. Service members treated in theater for mental health (n = 964) or noncombat injury (n = 853) were compared with randomly sampled personnel (n = 7,220) from the general deployed population on diagnosed mental disorders and early separation from service. Deployment, medical, and career information were obtained from Department of Defense archival databases.

Repeated concussion among U.S. military personnel during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Concussions are a predominant injury of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The aims of this study were to describe repeated concussive events among U.S.

Battlefield extremity injuries in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Objective: Extremity injuries account for the majority of wounds incurred during US armed conflicts. Information regarding the severity and short-term outcomes of patients with extremity wounds, however, is limited. The aim of the present study was to describe patients with battlefield extremity injuries in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and to compare characteristics of extremity injury patients with other combat wounded.