Introduction On April 15th, 2013, two bombs exploded near the Boston Marathon finish line, resulting in 3 fatalities and 264 casualties requiring hospital treatment (1). While blast injuries are commonly sustained by military personnel in combat zones (2-4), these injuries are extremely rare in the civilian environment (5). This incident in Boston demonstrates that even physicians who care for nonmilitary patients can benefit from an awareness of the spectrum of injuries related to bomb explosions. In rare emergency situations like this, rheumatologists who are not routinely involved in the care of acute trauma victims may be required/willing to act as a first responder outside a hospital or in an emergency room (ER) where ER physicians and surgeons are overwhelmed by a large influx of blast victims, many of whom require urgent care simultaneously. Rheumatologists may also see such patients later in the course of their recoveries from complex musculoskeletal injuries.
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