Air Medical Evacuations of Soldiers for Oral-facial Disease and Injuries, Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom, January-December 2006

摘要

This retrospective study was conducted to assess the nature and causes of serious oral-facial illnesses and injuries among U.S. Army personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006. Information for this study came from the U.S Air Force Transportation Regulating and Command & Control Evacuation System (TRAC2ES) database for medical evacuations (MEDEVACS) for 2006. The study found 113 oral-facial MEDEVACS out of Iraq (cumulative incidence: 10.2/10, 000 soldiers per year) and 19 out of Afghanistan (cumulative incidence: 11.1/ 10,000 soldiers per year), a total of 132 MEDEVACS. Fifty nine percent (n=78) of oral-facial MEDEVACS were due to battle injuries caused almost entirely by acts of war. Nearly 24 percent (n=31) of oral4acial MEDEVACS were due to non battle injuries, primarily fractures of the face bones, mainly because of fighting, blunt trauma, falls, motor vehicle accidents or sports. Seventeen percent of all oral-facial MEDEVACS (n=23) were due to diseases of the oral cavity, salivary glands, and jaw.