Citation

Covey DC. Injury 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

37149442

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Lower extremity junctional injuries due to explosive blasts are among the most lethal sustained on the battlefield. To help reduce the effects of junctional and perineal trauma from this injury mechanism, a tiered Pelvic Protection System (PPS) was fielded during the war in Afghanistan.

METHODS: Thirty-six patients with known PPS status who sustained traumatic above knee amputations, with and without perineal injuries, were identified from an operative amputation registry in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, spanning a 12-month period.

RESULTS: In Group 1 patients with above knee amputations who wore some tier of the PPS system, 47% (8 of 17) sustained junctional/perineal injuries. Of the patients in Group 2 who wore no PPS, 68% (13 of 19) sustained perineal injuries associated with proximal amputations. Overall, these differences were statistically significant (p = 0.0115).

CONCLUSION: Use of a PPS may reduce the risk of having severe perineal and lower extremity junctional injury in service members sustaining traumatic above knee amputations from an explosive blast.

Language: en

Keywords

Trauma; Amputation; Blast; Junctional injury; Lower extremity