Battlefield Medicine Advances

The April 3rd Wall Street Journal front-page article by Alan Cullison datelined Kandahar, Afghanistan, announced "On Distant Battlefields, Survival Odds Rise Sharply."

The article offers interesting information such as the following:

One of the most important innovations is a reemphasis on one of the oldest medical implements on the battlefield: the tourniquet. It was frowned upon in previous years because doctors feared it could cause long-term limb damage. Servicemen are now issued a Combat Action Tourniquet, dubbed CAT, made by Composite Resources, of Rock Hill, S.C.

Two CATs are now issued to every soldier. They are easy to use because each tourniquet has a black plastic lever that tightens it. Marines often go on foot patrols with tourniquets loosely strapped high on their thighs, so they can begin cranking right away if a foot is blown off.

The military's nerve center for innovations is the Joint Theater Trauma System, set up by the Defense Department in San Antonio, Texas. It analyzes statistics on battlefield injuries to see what treatments are working. A research article from the trauma center was one reason tourniquets were issued en masse in October 2008, after a study suggested that mortality rates could be reduced dramatically if soldiers could strap on a tourniquet before arriving at the hospital.

For more information on the advances from the battlefields, read the entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.