Prehospital Care Algorithm for Blast Injuries due to Bombing Incidents

Terrorist bombings continue to remain a risk for local jurisdictions, and retrospective data from the United States show that bombings occur in residential and business areas due to interpersonal violence without political motives. In the event of a mass-casualty bombing incident, prehospital care p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Prehospital and disaster medicine 2010-12, Vol.25 (6), p.595-600
Main Authors: Kapur, G. Bobby, Pillow, M. Tyson, Nemeth, Ira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
blast injuries
Blast Injuries - therapy
Bombs
Emergency Medical Services - organization & administration
explosions
Health technology assessment
Humans
Mass Casualty Incidents
mass-casualty incident
Terrorism
Theoretical Discussion
United States
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Summary:Terrorist bombings continue to remain a risk for local jurisdictions, and retrospective data from the United States show that bombings occur in residential and business areas due to interpersonal violence without political motives. In the event of a mass-casualty bombing incident, prehospital care providers will have the responsibility for identifying and managing blast injuries unique to bombing victims. In a large-scale event, emergency medical services personnel should be required to provide prolonged medical care in the prehospital setting, and they will be able to deliver improved care with a better understanding of blast injuries and a concise algorithm for managing them. Blast injuries are categorized as primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary, and these injuries are related to the mechanism of injury from the blast event. After an initial evaluation, the emergency healthcare provider should consider following a universal algorithm to identify and treat blast injuries within these categories to prevent further morbidity or mortality in the prehospital setting.
ISSN:1049-023X
1945-1938
DOI:10.1017/S1049023X00008815