Mortality Rates

Brig. Gen. Carol Ann Fausone (Ret)
Veteran Advocate

 

According to a military trauma study presented at the 2012 American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress, soldiers who sustained chest injuries in Afghanistan and Iraq have higher mortality rates than soldiers in Korea and Vietnam.

The study compared chest wound mortality rates from the Civil War (63% mortality), WWII (10%), Korea (2%) and Vietnam (3%) with those sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that suffered chest wounds had a mortality rate of 8.3%, a 5.3% increase over Vietnam. The study did not include soldiers killed in action.

Why the increase?

Capt. Katherine M. Ivey, MD, a presenter of the study, explains that this number reflects the fact that more wounded soldiers are being removed successfully from the battlefield and finding their way to treatment in hospitals. “We have the capability now of moving sicker patients from theater to the United States that we didn’t have before,” stated Ivey.

With more and more wounded soldiers being excavated from the battlefield the mortality numbers are increasing simply due to the surge in treated patients. The 5.3% increase in mortality rates since Vietnam is a misleading figure. In truth, with improvements in battlefield triage, wounded soldiers that would normally return home in months are now being returned home in days or weeks.

To learn more or see the original article, please visit: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/251177.php