Explosions and blast injuries

Powerful explosions have the potential to inflict many different types of injuries on victims, some of which may be initially occult. Flying debris and high winds commonly cause conventional blunt and penetrating trauma. Injuries caused by blast pressures alone result from complex interactions on li...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of emergency medicine 2001-06, Vol.37 (6), p.664-678
Main Authors: Wightman, John M., Gladish, Sheri L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Blast Injuries - classification
Blast Injuries - diagnosis
Blast Injuries - epidemiology
Blast Injuries - etiology
Blast Injuries - therapy
Emergency and intensive care: injuries, diseases due to physical agents. Diving. Drowning. Disaster medicine
Emergency Medical Services - methods
Emergency Treatment - methods
Explosions - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Intensive care medicine
Medical sciences
Risk Factors
Trauma Severity Indices
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:Powerful explosions have the potential to inflict many different types of injuries on victims, some of which may be initially occult. Flying debris and high winds commonly cause conventional blunt and penetrating trauma. Injuries caused by blast pressures alone result from complex interactions on living tissues. Interfaces between tissues of different densities or those between tissues and trapped air result in unique patterns of organ damage. These challenge out-of-hospital personnel, emergency physicians, and trauma surgeons to specifically seek evidence of these internal injuries in individuals with multiple trauma, adjust management considerations to avoid exacerbation of life-threatening problems caused by the blast wave itself, and ensure appropriate disposition of these patients in possible mass-casualty situations. Knowledge of the potential mechanisms of injury, early signs and symptoms, and natural courses of these problems will greatly aid the management of blast-injured patients. [Wightman JM, Gladish SL. Explosions and blast injuries. Ann Emerg Med. June 2001;37:664-678.]
ISSN:0196-0644
1097-6760
DOI:10.1067/mem.2001.114906