Normal Weight Status in Military Service Members Was Associated With Intuitive Eating Characteristic.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between individual weight status and intuitive eating or motivation for eating characteristics. Participants were predominantly white (57%), Army (91%), enlisted (72%), males (71%), with a mean age of 30 ± 9 years and mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.0 ± 4.

Repeated Low-Level Blast Exposure: A Descriptive Human Subjects Study.

The relationship between repeated exposure to blast overpressure and neurological function was examined in the context of breacher training at the U.S. Marine Corps Weapons Training Battalion Dynamic Entry School.

Musculoskeletal Injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan: Epidemiology and Outcomes Following a Decade of War.

The combined wars in Afghanistan and Iraq represent the longest ongoing conflicts in American military history, with a combined casualty estimate of >59,000 service members. The nature of combat over the last decade has led to precipitous increases in severe orthopaedic injuries, including traumatic amputations and injuries to the spine. Nearly 75% of all injuries sustained in combat now are caused by explosive mechanisms, and fractures comprise 40% of all musculoskeletal injuries.

Sleep, Sleep Disorders, and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. What We Know and What We Need to Know: Findings from a National Working Group.

Disturbed sleep is one of the most common complaints following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and worsens morbidity and long-term sequelae. Further, sleep and TBI share neurophysiologic underpinnings with direct relevance to recovery from TBI. As such, disturbed sleep and clinical sleep disorders represent modifiable treatment targets to improve outcomes in TBI.

Intravenous Ondansetron and the QT Interval in Adult Emergency Department Patients: An Observational Study.

Objectives: Ondansetron is known to cause QT interval prolongation, but this effect and clinical significance has not been prospectively studied in adult emergency department (ED) patients. The primary objective was to determine the mean maximal corrected QT interval (QTc) prolongation after intravenous (IV) administration of 4 mg of ondansetron. The secondary objective was to report any serious adverse cardiac electrical events.

Osteomyelitis is Commonly Associated With Septic Arthritis of the Shoulder in Children.

Purpose: To describe the clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of surgically treated septic arthritis of the shoulder in a pediatric population.

Methods: A retrospective chart review over 5 years of children with operatively managed septic arthritis of the shoulder was completed. Demographics, clinical presentation, symptoms duration, antibiotic regimen and duration, number of surgical procedures, and evaluation of laboratory value improvements were collected.

Preliminary Evidence of an Association Between ADHD Medications and Diminished Bone Health in Children and Adolescents.

Background: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 3.5 million children use psychotropic drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With an increase in use of these types of drugs, thorough understanding of their potential side effects on the growing skeleton is needed.

Emergency Department Management Of Acute Infective Endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis has a high rate of mortality, and most patients suspected of having the disease will require hospital admission. This review examines the literature as it pertains specifically to emergency clinicians who must maintain vigilance for risk factors and obtain a thorough history, including use of intravenous drugs, in order to guide the workup and treatment. Properly obtained cultures are critical during the evaluation, as they direct the course of antibiotic therapy.

Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year, one in six Americans will experience a foodborne illness. The most common causes in the United States are viruses, such as norovirus; bacteria, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, and Listeria; and parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii and Giardia. Resources are available to educate consumers on food recalls and proper handling, storage, and cooking of foods.

A comparison of the incidence of cricothyrotomy in the deployed setting to the emergency department at a level 1 military trauma center: a descriptive analysis.

Airway management is a critical skill of emergency medicine physicians and prehospital providers. Airway compromise is the cause of 1.8% of battlefield deaths.

Home exercise program compliance of service members in the deployed environment: an observational cohort study.

Background: Home exercise programs (HEP) are an integral part of any physical therapy treatment plan, but are especially important in theater. The primary aim of this study was to determine if the number of exercises prescribed in a HEP was associated with compliance rate of Service Members (SM) in theater with a secondary aim of determining variables associated with compliance and noncompliance.

Materials/methods: Subjects were 155 deployed SM undergoing physical therapy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Low-dose ketamine vs morphine for acute pain in the ED: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To compare the maximum change in numeric rating scale (NRS) pain scores, in patients receiving low-dose ketamine (LDK) or morphine (MOR) for acute pain in the emergency department.

Methods: We performed an institutional review board-approved, randomized, prospective, double-blinded trial at a tertiary, level 1 trauma center. A convenience sample of patients aged 18 to 59 years with acute abdominal, flank, low back, or extremity pain were enrolled.

Colorectal cancer screening and surveillance.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women. The incidence and mortality rate of the disease have been declining over the past two decades because of early detection and treatment. Screening in persons at average risk should begin at 50 years of age; the U.

Transfusion for shock in US military war casualties with and without tourniquet use.

Study Objective: We assess whether emergency tourniquet use for transfused war casualties admitted to military hospitals is associated with survival.

Methods: A retrospective review of trauma registry data was made of US casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. Patients with major limb trauma, transfusion, and tourniquet use were compared with similar patients who did not receive tourniquet use.

Snapping scapula syndrome in the military.

Snapping scapula syndrome is a rare condition resulting in painful crepitus of the scapulothoracic articulation that may be more common in a military population because of significant upper extremity load-bearing activities. Conservative management is the first-line therapy and is successful in up to 80% of patients. For those patients who fail conservative management, arthroscopic bursectomy and partial scapulectomy is a reasonable option, but is technically demanding and requires an in-depth understanding of the complex anatomy of the scapulothoracic region.

Risk of Lower Extremity Injury in a Military Cadet Population After a Supervised Injury-Prevention Program.

Context:  Specific movement patterns have been identified as possible risk factors for noncontact lower extremity injuries. The Dynamic Integrated Movement Enhancement (DIME) was developed to modify these movement patterns to decrease injury risk.

Objective:  To determine if the DIME is effective for preventing lower extremity injuries in US Military Academy (USMA) cadets.

Treatment of complex medical emergencies in a forward deployed setting: a case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

The Joint Trauma System in Afghanistan, while designed for the care of injured patients, can provide timely, multimodal, coordinated care for nontraumatic medical emergencies as patients are evacuated from theater. To illustrate this, a case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is presented. The patient was able to receive all recommended components of postcardiac arrest care in a timely, coordinated manner at four different medical treatment facilities and while traveling over 8,600 miles with critical care provided en route.

Weight change, lifestyle, and dietary behavior in the US military's Warrior in Transition Units.

Objective: To identify lifestyle factors that may contribute to weight changes experienced by Warfighters assigned to Warrior in Transition Units (WTU).

Design: Multicenter, cross-sectional, descriptive study at 4 military installations (Fort Hood, TX; Fort Bliss, TX; Fort Sam Houston, TX; and Fort Gordon, GA). Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire regarding environmental, social, and dietary lifestyle behaviors.

Colchicine exposures: the Texas experience.

Objectives: Colchicine is a relatively uncommon toxin, but is known to precipitate severe multiorgan failure in overdose. Little is known about exposure patterns and outcomes in cases of colchicine ingestion. Our goal was to add to toxicologic knowledge through a database review and descriptive study of colchicine exposures.

Is digital intubation an option for emergency physicians in definitive airway management?

Objectives: This study was designed to determine whether digital intubation is a valid option for definitive airway control by emergency physicians.

Methods: Digital intubation was performed by 18 emergency medicine residents and 4 staff emergency medicine physicians on 6 different cadavers. Placement was confirmed by direct laryngoscopy.

Factors that influence the decision of military dependents to decline smallpox vaccination during an outbreak.

Objective: To examine factors that influence the decision of military dependents to decline smallpox vaccination in the event of an outbreak.

Methods: A total of 373 military dependents, 18 to 65 years of age, were surveyed in December 2003, at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, concerning smallpox vaccine knowledge, adverse reactions, and willingness to receive the vaccine.

Results: A total of 89% of respondents were willing to receive the vaccine.