Deployment-related Respiratory Issues

Military deployment to Southwest Asia since 2003 in support of Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn has presented unique challenges from a pulmonary perspective. Various airborne hazards in the deployed environment include suspended geologic dusts, burn pit smoke, vehicle exhaust emiss...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:U.S. Army Medical Department journal 2016-04 (2-16), p.173-178
Main Authors: Morris, Michael J, Rawlins, Frederic A, Forbes, Damon A, Skabelund, Andrew J, Lucero, Pedro F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asia, Southeastern
Asthma - chemically induced
Asthma - diagnosis
Asthma - epidemiology
Asthma - therapy
Chronic Disease
Deployment (Strategy)
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental Exposure - prevention & control
Health aspects
Humans
Lung diseases
Lung Diseases - chemically induced
Lung Diseases - diagnosis
Lung Diseases - epidemiology
Lung Diseases - therapy
Military aspects
Military Personnel
Particulate Matter - adverse effects
Pulmonary Eosinophilia - chemically induced
Pulmonary Eosinophilia - diagnosis
Pulmonary Eosinophilia - epidemiology
Pulmonary Eosinophilia - therapy
Risk factors
Smoking
United States
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Military deployment to Southwest Asia since 2003 in support of Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn has presented unique challenges from a pulmonary perspective. Various airborne hazards in the deployed environment include suspended geologic dusts, burn pit smoke, vehicle exhaust emissions, industrial air pollution, and isolated exposure incidents. These exposures may give rise to both acute respiratory symptoms and in some instances development of chronic lung disease. While increased respiratory symptoms during deployment are well documented, there is limited data on whether inhalation of airborne particulate matter is causally related to an increase in either common or unique pulmonary diseases. While disease processes such as acute eosinophilic pneumonia and exacerbation of preexisting asthma have been adequately documented, there is significant controversy surrounding the potential effects of deployment exposures and development of rare pulmonary disorders such as constrictive bronchiolitis. The role of smoking and related disorders has yet to be defined. This article presents the current evidence for deployment-related respiratory symptoms and ongoing Department of Defense studies. Further, it also provides general recommendations for evaluating pulmonary health in the deployed military population.
ISSN:1524-0436
1946-1968