Strategies for pre-hospital and early in-hospital management for explosion injuries

Abstract

Explosion injuries are common in wars, terrorist attacks and explosion accidents. The unique multi-dimensional mechanisms of explosion injuries result in complex and critical conditions of injuries and often causes mass casualties, which can be difficult to manage. As few health professionals have sufficient experience with explosion injuries, the management of such injuries still awaits standardization to improve the outcomes of the patients. Herein we introduce the concept of 5-type classification of blast injuries and summarize the strategies for pre-hospital management and early treatment of the patients, with elaboration of the key points in the early treatment of the injuries of the ears, gastrointestinal tract, heart, limbs, eyes and brain.

Keywords

• explosion injuries
• 5-type classification of blast injuries
• pre-hospital management
• in-hospital emergency management