An analysis of foot-ankle-leg fractures sustained by Warfighters and PMHS in the under-body blast environment

Abstract

Warfighters in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (OIF and OEF) were frequently exposed to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These munitions present a substantial risk to both mounted and dismounted Warfighters. This thesis created a military specific case review system based on the established Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN). The modified review system was used to analyze foot-ankle-leg fractures of mounted Warfighters in OIF and OEF. Finally, the in-theater injuries were compared to experimental results from post-mortem human surrogate (PMHS) blast testing. Lower extremity injuries made up the majority of the injuries sustained by mounted Warfighters wounded in an under body blast event. Mitigating this subset of injuries through design improvements to vehicles and personal protective equipment (PPE) would have substantial preventative and mitigating effects that would benefit Warfighters and would reduce societal and military costs.