CORR Insights®: Do Battlefield Injury-acquired Indwelling Metal Fragments Induce Metal Immunogenicity?

摘要

The uncertain hazards of retained metallic fragments from injuries sustained in combat are as old as ballistic conflict itself, and likely pre-date gunpowder. Nonetheless, both these fragments and their associated hazards have undoubtably become more common as modern conflict has progressed from close cannon fire and musket shot toward armor-piercing rounds, rocket-propelled grenades, and improvised explosive devices. Medical advances arising from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased the survivability of combat wounds despite increasingly devastating injuries [6], resulting in thousands of surviving service members with retained fragments in their bodies.