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Medical advances save up to 572 troops from ‘life-threatening’ injuries
DB News: 04/06/2015 - 15:10
The research was conducted by Navy Surgeons and academics at the University of Birmingham and published in the Journal of Trauma.
It is believed that advancements in the speed of helicopter evacuations, field-hospital equipment snap and the skill of British surgeons and nurses have greatly improved survival rates in the military across the the two campaigns.
It is the first study examine survival in UK troops during the sustained period of combat over the last decade, and aimed to examine temporal changes of injury patterns and survival rates.
In the study, every casualty was given a New Injury Severity Score (NISS), ranging from 1, for a minor wound, to 75, for un-survivable injuries. The research showed that the level of severity where casualties would have a 50% chance of survival rose each year, from 33 in 2003 to 60 by 2013.
Surg Lt Cdr Jowan Penn-Barwell of the Royal Navy said:“The United Kingdom was at war in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade. Despite assertions regarding advances in military trauma care during this time, until now, no studies had examined survival in UK troops during this sustained period of combat.
“While both the UK military and our American colleagues always believed that survival rates had improved, this is the first time that it has been demonstrated scientifically.”
He added: “This study is the most detailed analysis of combat casualties ever released on either side of the Atlantic and is the first to definitively prove that the huge efforts to advance and improve the care of our wounded have been enormously effective.”
