Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116380

Keith G. Hauret, MSPH, MPT¹, Sara Canada, MPH¹, Michelle Canham-Chervak, MPH², Bruce H. Jones, MD, MPH¹, and Jeffrey Hadley, PhD³. (1) USA CHPPM (ATTN: MCHB-TS-DI), Injury Prevention Program, 5158 Blackhawk Rd, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5403, (410) 436-5291, keith.hauret@apg.amedd.army.mil, (2) Injury Prevention Program, U.S. CHPPM, 5158 Blackhawk Rd, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5403, (3) Injury Prevention Program, U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, 5158 Blackhawk Rd., Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010

In wartime operations, non-battle injuries (NBIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. During Operations Desert Shield and Storm, NBIs accounted for 52% of deaths and 39% of hospitalization among U.S. military personnel. Many NBIs may be preventable. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of using the U.S. Transportation Command Regulating and Command and Control System (TRAC2ES): 1) as an injury surveillance tool during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), 2) to calculate rates for serious NBIs, and 3) to identify the major causes of NBIs. Methods. Soldiers medically air evacuated between March 19, 2003 and December 31, 2003 (n=8,918) were identified from TRAC2ES. A random sample of 927 Soldiers was selected. These cases were categorized as “NBI”, “battle injury” (BI), or “illness” using the ICD-9 code and case “history” in TRAC2ES. Injury causes for NBIs were identified from the “history” and categorized using the previously validated NATO Standardization Agreement scheme. Estimated annual rates for NBI and BI were determined. Results. In the sample, 37% of cases (rate: 29/1,000 per year) were NBIs and 11% were BIs (rate: 8/1,000 per year). The 5 leading causes of NBI were falls (13%), motor vehicle-related accidents (12%), sports/physical training (11%), lifting/pushing/pulling (7%), and crushing/blunt trauma (6%). Conclusion. The TRAC2ES system can be used to determine the incidence and causes of serious NBIs. NBIs comprised one-third of medical air evacuations for Army Soldiers. As indicated by the leading injury cause categories, many of these NBIs may be preventable.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants in this session will be able to

• Describe the relative importance of non-battle injuries compared to illnesses and battle injuries among Soldiers medically evacuated from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• List the 5 leading causes of non-battle injuries requiring air evacuation of Soldiers from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Keywords: Injuries, Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.