Bombings and explosion incidents directed against innocent civilians are the primary instrument of global terror. In the present review we highlight the major observations and lessons learned from these events. Five mechanisms of blast injury are outlined and the different type of injury that they cause is described. Indeed, the consequences of terror bombings differ from those of non-terrorism...

In MCIs (mass casualty incidents) patient tracking is cumbersome when using paper based approaches. Due to the fact that the spatial positions of the patients are essential in MCIs, we equipped the relief workers with electronic devices. We analyzed two concepts for patient tracking: direct and indirect tracking. The indirect tracking turned out to be superior with regard to the requirements fr...

In mass casualty incidents, operation managers have to make decisions under highly stressful conditions. At present, the tactical information is mostly written down on paper-based worksheets, which are inconvenient to use. As a result, the operation managers tend to avoid the paper sheets and try to remember information which is error-prone. To overcome this issue, this paper presents an IT-sup...

Since the terror attacks of September 11th, emergency departments across North America have become more aware of the need to be prepared to deal with a mass casualty terror event, particularly one involving nuclear, biological or chemical contaminants. The effects of such an attack could also be mimicked by accidental release of toxic chemicals, radioactive substances or biological agents unrel...

This article reviews the history and structure of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), with an emphasis on its definitive care component. NDMS's capacity to handle very large mass casualty events, such as those included in the National Planning Scenarios, is examined. Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress called for a reevaluation of NDMS. In that context, we make three key suggestions ...

In the event of an influenza pandemic, patients with severe acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to influenza will require positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) in order to survive. In countries with widely available critical care services, PPV is delivered almost exclusively through use of full-feature mechanical ventilators in intensive care units (ICUs) or specialized hospital wards. But the su...