Wounding patterns of blast injury (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

by Dan Pronk · October 5, 2016

The wounding patterns of blast injuries are well known to any military medic who has served recently on operations, with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) constituting a significant proportion of the casualties on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly the IED threat is no longer confined to war zones, with a series of high profile, mass-casualty IED terror events occurring in places of mass gathering in first-world countries in recent years.

Terrorists have come to favour explosives because of their proven ability to inflict mass casualties, cause fear and disruption in the community, and attract media interest (ANZCTC 2016).

About Dan Pronk

Dr Dan Pronk completed his medical schooling on an Australian Army scholarship and served the majority of his military career with Special Operations Units, including four tours of Afghanistan and over 100 combat missions. Dr Pronk was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service for his conduct in action on his second tour of Afghanistan. During his military service Dr Pronk served as an Australian medical liaison to the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, as well as representing Australian Special Operations at the NATO Special Operations Forces Medical Expert Panel. Dr Pronk holds a Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and is an instructor on the Royal Australian College of Surgeon's Early Management of Severe Trauma Course. Dr Pronk currently works as a Senior Medical Officer in the Emergency Department of a regional hospital and serves as the Medical Director for TacMed Australia, providing tactical medical advice and training to a number of Police Tactical Groups and Other Government Agencies.

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Alan t
My wife is a flight nurse and base manager for Classic Air Medical. I've forwarded this to her as well as my daughter. The three of us put on mock casualty events and I think I know what our next one is going to involve.
tim e
Dr Pronk, A very valuable article, Injuries as the examples shown are of the type and severity we hope to never have to deal with in civilian life. Unfortunately do need to be prepared to effectively deal with such cases - as an EMS provider in a remote part of the US could you recommend a source of training material dealing with the type of injuries occurring from explosions? Most of our local resources are not at all familiar with the treatment and care of patients with injuries from this mechanism of injury.
Michelle B
I've been working my way through the linked references, and I just finished the detailed TacMed ebook on arterial tourniquets...which was also well-written. Much more to know than I would have anticipated! (Just as an FYI, the second tacmed link inside the ebook, that should lead to info about improvised tourniquets using items from the trunk of a car, leads only to a main tacmed site.) Thanks again for the great info and links to additional sources.
Antonio A
Very interesting article and graphics that clearly illustrate the effects of blast injuries and their unique signature. I have never seen a living victim of such injury on scene. Articles such as this inform and give me a better idea as to what to expect, God forbid that happens. Just in case tho, I've supplemented my CATs with two RATS giving me 5 organic to vehicle w/Squad size Med kit,O2+Infant/child size equip, and two per backpack/School bag when on campus. I seem to be a shit magnet at times so I always roll heavy.
jason b
Great article Dan, good to see you are on SOFREP mate !! Bubba from the feds.