The management of head injuries on military operations

The management of head injured patients has recently been reviewed with the development of civilian guidelines for best practice. These are common injuries which often have significant sequelae for patients and costs for health care providers. Evolving civilian standards of care have implications for military medicine which is often practised in challenging environments. Considerable planning and resources are necessary to meet these standards in an operational environment. The current standards and the problems of applying them in an operational theatre are discussed.