Combat burn life support: a military burn-education program

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Military Health
• Disaster Preparedness

Background:

• The standard Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) course, while valuable, has limitations for military applications.
• ABLS is designed for civilian needs, covers only the initial 24 hours of burn care, and assumes access to burn centers.
• Military exigencies, such as chemical burns and prolonged field care, necessitate specialized training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement add-on training modules to the ABLS course for military healthcare providers.
• To address specific challenges in military burn care, including chemical burns, extended patient management, and austere environments.
• To create Combat Burn Life Support (CBLS) modules adaptable for both military and civilian mass casualty incidents.

Main Methods:

• Developed specialized modules focusing on white phosphorus burns, mustard gas exposure, aeromedical evacuation, extended burn management, and austere burn care.
• Integrated these modules into the existing ABLS framework, creating the Combat Burn Life Support course.
• Delivered ABLS and/or CBLS training to 1035 military healthcare providers across multiple locations (US, Germany, Middle East) between January and May 2003.

Main Results:

• The CBLS course successfully augmented the standard ABLS training for military personnel.
• Training was provided to a significant number of military health providers in diverse geographical settings.
• Initial student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, indicating the course's effectiveness and utility.

Conclusions:

• The Combat Burn Life Support course effectively addresses critical gaps in military burn care training.
• The CBLS curriculum is adaptable and relevant for military operations and civilian mass casualty events.
• Ongoing refinement based on user feedback will further enhance the training's impact.