Study: 25% of War Deaths Medically Preventable - (Under perfect medical conditions)

Thoughts on this? 

By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 28, 2012 16:04:10 EDT

A new study finds that nearly a quarter of the 4,596 combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011 were “potentially survivable,” meaning that under ideal conditions — and with the right equipment or latest medical techniques — the troops may have had a fighting chance.

But the study also notes that 90 percent of the deaths occurred before the injured reached a medical facility: of the 4,090 troops who suffered mortal wounds on the battlefield, 1,391 died instantly and 2,699 succumbed before arriving at a treatment center.

Just 506 service members made it to a field hospital before dying of injuries — an indication that military researchers should work to improve field treatment capability, says trauma surgeon Col. Brian Eastridge with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.

“This study does not imply we are leaving our warriors on the battlefield languishing. ‘Potentially survivable’ implies there are potential improvements — areas we may look to where we could alter outcomes so they don’t die in the immediate phase,” Eastridge said.

Combat survivability is at an all-time high in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ten percent of all injuries resulted in death, as opposed to Vietnam, where the fatality rate was 16.1 percent, or World War II, with a 19.1 percent fatality rate.

But there is more the military medical community can do to improve outcomes, Eastridge argues.

“There’s a tremendous amount of information we can gain and potentially improve clinical care if we know why casualties die on the battlefield,” he said.

Among the potential fields for more research is hemorrhage control: The study showed that uncontrolled blood loss was the leading cause of death in 90 percent of the potentially survivable battlefield cases and in 80 percent of those who died in a military treatment facility.

“Bleed-outs” — especially those caused by groin or neck wounds — torment medics, corpsmen and physicians who can do little to stanch blood loss caused by major arterial injuries.

Two devices, the Combat Ready Clamp and Abdominal Aortic Tourniquet, have been built to treat these injuries, but the Combat Ready Clamp, now being fielded, is primarily for treating single groin or pelvic injuries and is ineffective against wounds involving the genital region or the loss of both legs.

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