Crush Injuries and the Crush Syndrome

Combat related injuries bring untold misery to the victims and their loved ones. While injuries to vital organs cause immediate death, delayed mortality after reaching a hospital may occur due to several reasons, rhabdomyolysis or the crush syndrome being the most important. Crush syndrome predominantly affects the kidneys leading to renal failure, but the clinical picture may include acute respiratory distress syndrome, dyselectrolytaemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, hypovolemic shock, arrhythmias and psychological trauma. Rescue, resuscitation and rehabilitation are onerous tasks and so a coordinated strategy with well trained team of professionals through various chains of evacuation is advocated. This article addresses these issues drawing upon the experience of the writer in combat casualty care in active operations.