Psychiatric problems in medically evacuated service members.

摘要

In The Lancettoday, Steven Cohen and colleagues1 report their prospective cohort study of medical evacuation and return to duty for service personnel in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. They conclude that preventive measures and aggressive forward-deployed interventions could reduce the effect of non-battle-related injuries. Every subsequent war has seen improved medical interventions and better use of body armour. As a result, in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the proportion of medical evacuations resulting from battle injuries is decreasing while operational stress injuries and other psychiatric disorders are playing an increasing part in medical evacuation. The most striking finding from today's study was that nearly three-quarters (72%) of service members who were evacuated for disease and non-battle injuries did not return to full duty. The situation is a particular problem for military personnel evacuated for psychiatric conditions.