Distribution and care of shipboard blast injuries (USS Cole DDG-67)

On October 12, 2000, the destroyer USS Cole was anchored in a foreign port and was severely damaged by explosives in a small craft adjacent to the ship at the port side waterline. Seventeen crew members were killed in the incident. The wounded were evacuated to several medical facilities for their initial care and then to the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and subsequently to the Charette Health Care Center (Naval Medical Center) in Portsmouth, Virginia. There were 35 surviving patients who had sustained 81 total injuries associated with the explosion. The distribution of the injuries included orthopedic, ophthalmologic, soft tissue, otolaryngologic, burns, inhalation, and other miscellaneous injuries. Twenty-seven of the patients were discharged after 24-hour observation. This article reviews the distribution of injuries found in the fatalities and the wounded crew members and the subsequent care required to prepare the military medical community for potential future incidents of this type.