Field management of chemical casualties

HEALTH SERVICE SUPPORT ON THE BATTLEFIELD Echelon I The Unit Level Echelon II The Division Level Echelon III The Corps Level Echelon IV The Echelon Above Corps Echelon V The Continental United States 

MEDICAL SUPPORT IN A CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT First Aid for a Chemical Casualty Casualty-Receiving Area 

Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5425 currently, Chemical Casualty Consultant, 14 Brooks Road, Bel Air, Maryland 21014 

Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-6100 currently, Assistant Director, Safety, Radiation Safety Officer, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 30 North Murray Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53715 

Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-6175 

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USAMRICD (US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense) (2000b). Field Management of Chemical Casualties Handbook, 2nd edition. Chemical Casualty Care Division, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. 

References FM 8-9 (Part IE), FM 8-10-7, and USAMRICD s Field Management of Chemical Casualties. 

At the first echelon of medical care, the chemical casualty is contaminated and both he and the triage officer are in protective clothing. Furthermore, the first medical care given to the casualty is in a contaminated area, on the hot or dirty side of the hotline at the emergency treatment station (see Figure 13-1 in Chapter 13, Field Management of Chemical Casualties). This is unlike the clean side of the hotline at any echelon of care where casualties are decontaminated before they enter, or un-... 

A new course, Field Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (FCBC), began in 1999. The focus of this course is on pre-hospital emergency treatment and casualty decontamination. It is available in both on-site and off-site versions. 

Fleet Battle Experiment Foxtrot Field Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties... 

Until definitive medical therapeutics for sulfur mustard are fielded, the medical caregivers will have to rely on symptomatic treatments and sound medical judgments. Historically derived treatments, as presented in the Textbook of Military Medicine (Sidell et al., 1997) and the Medical Management of Chemical Casualties Handbook (1999) prepared by the Chemical Casualty Care Division of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, can also be of assistance. 

All casualties entering a medical unit after experiencing a chemical attack are to be considered contaminated unless there is certification of noncontamination. The initial management of a casualty contaminated by chemical agents will require removal of mission-oriented protective posture (MOPP) gear and decontamination with 0.5% hypochlorite before treatment within the field MTF. 

Development of sensors that can detect and identify the release of toxic materials must continue. Effective responses to the specific agent involved in a chemical attack can only be achieved through the correct choice of sensors for the job, which in turn is crucial for effective consequential management including orderly evacuation to minimize casualties. Therefore, a program with sustained funding to focus and coordinate research and development on sensors and sensor networks, with an emphasis on fielding systems, is needed. 

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