Tactical Medicine News Blog

[Click for larger view] Chief Complaint: Right lower extremity injury while spear fishing History of Present Illness: A 33-year-old male went river fishing with a homemade spear and diving mask in Papua New Guinea. He felt sudden pain and tugging to the right lower extremity. He was near shore and grabbed a tree root. He held on for dear life as he was being pulled back into the water. It felt as if his foot had been torn off. He did not let go of the tree root and eventually the pulling force ceased. He got out of the water and walked 2 miles unassisted before finding help and hospital transport.

This is an article written by Sean Keenan, MD, FAAEM, FAWM and Jamie Riesberg, MD. It originally appeared in the June 2017 Volume 28, Issue 2, Supplement, Pages S135–S139 of the Official Journal of the Wilderness Medical Society. Original link is below: https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(17)30063-7/fulltext Introduction When most people picture military medicine, they may imagine gunshots and explosions, heavily armored soldiers and vehicles, first aid administered as per the strict Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) protocols, and rapid movement through a well-established system to forward surgical teams and combat hospitals. This has been the common experience of most military medical providers...

Current K9 TECC/TCCC guidelines - pass these to your dog handlers. However, in case the dog handler is injured, team medics need to know what to do for the injured K9 team member! GOALS Accomplish the mission with minimal casualties. Maintain tactical superiority. Expect to keep the canine (K9) team (handler and/or K9) maximally engaged in neutralizing the existing threat (e.g., active shooter, structural collapse, confined space, hazardous materials). Maintain team safety by ensuring, when feasible, that the K9 handler is always involved when handling an injured K9. Move the downed K9 team to a safe position and prevent...

The hemostatic product range is, like tourniquets, always a source of debate among members of the community   Often times, information is propagated based on anecdotal evidence, favoritism, brand loyalty, or "I only use what the military uses".  Sometimes the studies and actual evidence get brushed aside and this tends to confuse the newer medic or citizen who is just learning about these products.

A 46 year-old male presents with wrist pain after sustaining a mechanical fall and catching himself on his outstretched hand. An anteroposterior (left) and lateral (right) plain films of the wrist are obtained (photo credit). What is the diagnosis (hint – there are 2 findings), injury classification system, associated findings, and the recommended management plan?