Deployment and operation of a transportable burn intensive care unit in response to a burn multiple casualty incident

Authors

  • COL David J. Barillo, MD, FACS
  • COL Leopoldo C. Cancio, MD, FACS
  • COL Richard S. Stack, MD, FACS
  • LCDR Shamus R. Carr, MD
  • CPT Kristine P. Broger, RN, MHA, CCRN
  • SSG David M. Crews, LVN
  • LTC Evan M. Renz, MD, FACS
  • COL Lorne H. Blackbourne, MD, FACS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2010.0001

Keywords:

burn, mass casualty, aeromedical evacuation, CCATT

Abstract

In many hospitals, intensive care units (ICUs) operate at or above capacity on a daily basis. Multiplecasualty incidents will create a sudden need for additional ICU beds and hospital planning for disaster response must anticipate the need for rapid ICU expansion.
In this article, the authors describe the management of 6 patients who were burned in Guam and successfully transported a distance of 7,268 miles to San Antonio, TX, for tertiary burn center care. The mission required creation of a temporary burn ICU at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, approximately midway between the referring hospital and the receiving burn center. A method of creating a temporary burn center is described. Lessons learned, including the need to standardize equipment, and to cross-train and cross-credential medical personnel, are applicable to both military and civilian mass casualty management.

Author Biographies

COL David J. Barillo, MD, FACS

US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas.

COL Leopoldo C. Cancio, MD, FACS

US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas.

COL Richard S. Stack, MD, FACS

Department of Surgery, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

LCDR Shamus R. Carr, MD

Department of Surgery, US Naval Hospital, Guam.

CPT Kristine P. Broger, RN, MHA, CCRN

US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas.

SSG David M. Crews, LVN

US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas.

LTC Evan M. Renz, MD, FACS

US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas.

COL Lorne H. Blackbourne, MD, FACS

US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, Texas.

References

Department of the Army, Headquarters, US Army Medical Command: Military Operations: Medical Emergency Management Planning. San Antonio: US Army Medical Command, MEDCOM Pamphlet 525-1, October 2003.

Cancio LC: Airplane crash in Guam, August 6, 1997: The areromdical evacuation response. J Burn Care Res. 2006; 27: 642- 648.

Mozingo DW, Barillo DJ, Holcomb JB: The Pope Air Force Base aircraft crash and burn disaster. J Burn Care Rehabil. 2005; 26: 132-140.

Barillo DJ, Dickerson EE, Cioffi WG, et al.: Pressure-controlled ventilation for the long-range aeromedical transport of burn patients. J Burn Care Rehabil. 1997; 18: 200-205.

Faxon NW, Churchill ED: The Cocoanut Grove disaster in Boston: A preliminary account. JAMA. 1942; 120: 1385-1388.

Published

01/01/2010

How to Cite

Barillo, MD, FACS, C. D. J., C. L. C. Cancio, MD, FACS, C. R. S. Stack, MD, FACS, L. S. R. Carr, MD, C. K. P. Broger, RN, MHA, CCRN, S. D. M. Crews, LVN, L. E. M. Renz, MD, FACS, and C. L. H. Blackbourne, MD, FACS. “Deployment and Operation of a Transportable Burn Intensive Care Unit in Response to a Burn Multiple Casualty Incident”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 5, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 5-13, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2010.0001.

Most read articles by the same author(s)