Disease and Nonbattle Injury Related to Peacekeeping Operations in South America: Summary Patient Care Statistics for CABANAS 2000

Abstract

Peacekeeping operations and training for peacekeeping missions currently require far more time and personnel from our armed forces than previously. Although literature exists describing mortality, disease and nonbattle injury (DNBI), and medical support for peacekeeping operations in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Far East, none was found concerning operations and training for peacekeeping in South America. The present retrospective study presents an analysis of DNBI for forces participating in CABANAS 2000, an eight-nation peacekeeping training exercise held in Argentina. The mean DNBI rate for the 6-week period was 4.1 cases/100 personnel/week. Frequently cited causes for service member presentations for medical treatment were respiratory disease (43%), orthopedic disorders and injuries (25.9%), other miscellaneous medical conditions (8.5%), dermatologic complaints (6.9%), and diarrhea and intestinal complaints (6.5%). These findings indicate that peacekeeping operations and training in South America are relatively safe.

Impact of Illness and Non-Combat Injury During Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)

“…4,5 However, non-combat injuries and illnesses have also been shown to have a significant adverse impact on military operations, resulting in more hospitalizations and lost person-days than combat casualties in every war from the American Revolution through the Gulf War. [6][7][8] Since the United States currently has more than 140,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, military health care planners and providers should have a clear understanding of all health risks encountered in the region and the impact of common infections and non-combat injuries on the military mission. The four most commonly reported diagnoses during U.S. military deployments over the last 15 years have been non-combat orthopedic injuries, respiratory infections, skin diseases, and gastrointestinal infections.…”

Incidence, Etiology, and Impact of Diarrhea Among Long-Term Travelers (Us Military and Similar Populations): A Systematic Review

“…[5][6][7] Studies evaluating disease and non-battle injury rates in recent peacetime and combat operational settings have consistently identified infectious gastrointestinal illness in the top five reasons for clinic visits. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Because the increasingly global economy has led to both an increase in short-term travelers and an increase in populations from developed countries moving to and residing for lengthier stays in developing countries, it is important to determine whether there are differences in the epidemiology of diarrhea in these groups.…”

A disease and non‐battle injury model based on Persian Gulf War admission rates

“…Efforts to reduce the DNBI rate have been increased in recent years, including development of a preventive medicine framework by military physicians [Withers et al, 1994], personal attention from the Army Surgeon General [Peak, 2000], and an evaluation of injuries by the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board [Jones and Hansen, 2000;. There has been widespread surveillance of DNBI incidence across a variety of operations [Withers et al, 1994;McKee et al, 1998;Blood and Walker, 1999;Gambel et al, 1999;Writer et al, 2000;Taylor et al, 2001], and the rates have been examined from many angles, including variability with battle intensity [Blood and Gauker, 1993;Blood and Anderson, 1994], differences between combat and support troops [Blood and Jolly, 1995], and effect of previous hospitalizations [Brundage et al, 2002]. While this attention has been successful in reducing DNBI rates [Peak, 2000], the issue remains a major item on a medical planner's agenda.…”