Preclinical Evaluation of the Effects of Aeromedical Evacuation on Military-Relevant Casualties
Abstract
Aeromedical evacuation is associated with several stressors that may cause harm during casualties' transport. In addition to these stressors, timing, oxygen supplementation and altitude may have additional effects that are currently unknown. The purposes of this proposal are to better evaluate the effect of these additional variables and define an adequate timing, oxygen supplementation level and best appropriate altitude to maintain normal organ physiology. This proposal includes the use of two different animal models, rats and swine, using different and complement strategies to better understand the effects of aeromedical evacuation. So far, our results showed the feasibility of our models to monitor the effects of aeromedical evacuation on neurobehavioral damage, inflammatory response and hemodynamic changes. Specifically, we showed no changes in behavioral or pathological changes in the short term of transport after injury in the rat model but noticed modification in the inflammatory response. In addition, we established a swine model that can be used to monitor hemodynamic changes during aeromedical evacuation with different levels of oxygen and altitude. Overall, we were able to show that restricted oxygenation (21 percent) is not sufficient for a wounded warrior. However, it was not clear if 100 percent oxygenation was necessary due to the limited number of experimental animals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1206964
Entities
People
- Carolyn Gosztyla
- Françoise Arnaud
Organizations
- Naval Medical Research Center