A Word From Our Publisher |
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Greetings JSOM Newsletter Subscribers,
The World Trauma Symposium is right around the corner. Although the JSOM team had initially planned on being at the conference, unfortunately we will be unable to attend this year's event. However, we are taking a strong media and sponsorship role at the conference and encourage everyone to use our materials to gather more information about the JSOM and the important role we play in unconventional and emergency medicine.
We want to take a minute to recognize our friend and Contributing Editor to the JSOM's Ongoing Series (HPO section), Patricia A. Deuster, PhD, MPH, FACSM. She was recently honored with the Distinguished Service Award at the 2021 MHSRS Research Awards. Congratulations, Patricia! For a full list of the award winners, please visit the MHSRS website.
SOMA's 2022 Call for Proposals
The SOMSA Program Committee is seeking proposals for podium presentations and labs that address important medical challenges and issues, increase the knowledge and skills of SOF and civilian prehospital providers, and promote the development of new best practices and technologies. Interested parties can access the online submission site from the SOMA website.
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Respectfully,
Michelle DuGuay Landers, MBA, BSN, RN
Breakaway Media, LLC
Publisher
Journal of Special Operations Medicine (JSOM)
Lt Col, USAF/NC (Ret)
publisher@jsomonline.org
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A note about the newsletter design: This newsletter has been created using one cohesive font and a unified JSOM brand and color design. If multiple fonts or unusual colors are appearing in your copy, it is a result of your personal settings or the settings attached to your email. For optimal viewing of this newsletter, we suggest opening the newsletter in a browser. |
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Journal of Special Operations Medicine Featured Abstracts |
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ABSTRACT
Nutritional fitness is a key goal of every Special Operations Forces (SOF) Operator, and nutrition is one way of potentially gaining a necessary edge. Although fad diets are popular among SOF Operators, many have no evidence with regard to military-specific tasks. One fad diet-intermittent fasting (IF)-is clearly the rage across the United States (US) and popular as a dietary pattern. Most fad diets are studied in the context of various chronic diseases, in particular, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, and there are no data on the benefits among SOF or any military population. Thus, evidence demonstrating improvements in performance is typically lacking. Despite no clear evidence, many still devote their lives to popular fad diets. We address whether IF confers performance improvements in SOF by first discussing the concepts of metabolic flexibility and metabolic shifting, then describing IF and its subtypes, after which we summarize the literature with regard to cardiovascular disease and obesity. We close with how IF impacts performance and discuss who should use consider using IF as a dietary pattern.
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ABSTRACT
Vitamin A is a generic term for compounds that have biological activity similar to that of retinol and includes carotenoids like β-carotene and α-carotene. Some studies suggest high dietary intake of vitamin A can increase bone fracture risk. This investigation involved a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the association between vitamin A and fracture risk. Published literature was searched to find studies that (1) involved human participants, (2) had prospective cohort or case-control study designs, (3) contained original quantitative data on associations between dietary intake of vitamin A and fractures, and (4) provided either risk ratios (RRs), odds ratios (ORs), or hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) comparing various levels of vitamin A consumption to fracture risk. Thirteen studies met the review criteria. Meta-analyses indicated that risk of hip fracture was increased by high dietary intake of total vitamin A (RR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.07-1.57) or retinol (RR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.02-1.48). Hip fracture risk was reduced by high dietary intake of total carotene (RR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.42-0.93), β-carotene (RR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.58-0.89), or α-carotene (RR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.67-0.97). Total fracture risk was not associated with any vitamin A compound. High intake of total vitamin A or retinol increased hip fracture risk, while high intake of some carotenoids reduced hip fracture risk.
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September 2021 Featured Article |
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Case Report of Infectious Myositis in the Austere Setting
Sarkisian S, Sletten ZJ, Roberts P, Powell T. 21(2). 80 - 84. (Journal Article)
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ABSTRACT
Although skin and soft tissue infections are common in the deployed setting, infectious myositis is relatively uncommon. Bacterial infection of the muscle is the most common infectious etiology and can result in a spectrum of disease, to include abscess formation to necrotizing myositis, toxic shock syndrome, and death. Diagnosis can be elusive, particularly in the early stages. Recognition and proper management are crucial to prevent complications. The authors present a case report of infectious myositis diagnosed and managed in an austere deployed environment, as well as a discussion regarding current recommendations on diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: infectious myositis; myositis; austere; antibiotics
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The Journal of Special Operations Medicine Podcast |
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The JSOM podcast digs deeper into the articles and subjects that matter to our readers. Our podcast hosts, Captains Alex Merkle and Josh Randles, tackle articles from the journal based on merit, interest, and application for operators in the field. In addition, the podcast features a special, not to be missed Interview Series with leaders, doctors, and authors. |
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SUMMER 2021
The new JSOM podcast episode is up on our website. Join our podcast hosts, Alex and Josh, as they review 3 articles from the Summer 21 edition:
Infectious Myositis in the Austere Setting by Simon Sarkisian
Autopy-Determined Atherosclerosis in SOF Forces by Russ Kotwal
23.4% Hypertonic Saline by Eric DeSousy
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Highlights from the JSOM Special Talk Series |
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COL (Ret) Russ Kotwal, MD, MPH
Dr. Kotwal spent nearly 30 years in the military and more than 15 years in operational assignments with the 25th Infantry Division, 75th Ranger Regiment, and U.S Army Special Operations Command. He deployed to combat 12 times with the Rangers -- nine times to Afghanistan and three to Iraq. He conducted hundreds of combat ground and air missions as the senior medical provider and is highly decorated, including five Bronze Star medals, two Joint Service Commendation medals for Valor, and two combat jump stars, among many others. Dr. Kotwal is also a master parachutist, master flight surgeon, and Ranger qualified. He is credited with numerous novel training and technology initiatives, professional publications, and national and international presentations related primarily to prehospital medicine on the battlefield. Dr. Kotwal is an adjunct professor for both the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He has been an advisor for the Defense Health Agency’s Joint Trauma System and Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, as well as the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a Hero of Military Medicine award recipient, a Distinguished Member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, an inductee into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame, and the current president of the Special Operations Medical Association.
MSG (Ret.) Rick Hines I
Rick Hines has a long history in Special Operations and is currently an instructor Special Warfare Training Group. He teaches at the SF Medical Sergeant Recertification Course and focuses on anesthesia and surgical care in the austere environment. Rick discusses the benefits of recycling at the 18D course, historical basis, and current practice of surgical care and anesthesia for the far forward Special Operations medic.
Dr. Kyle Stigall
Dr. Stigall attended the United States Air Force Academy for undergrad and the University of Kentucky for medical school. He is currently a fourth-year general surgery resident at Brooke Army Medical Center. He completed a research year at the Naval Medical Research Unit in San Antonio in 2020 with a focus on trauma resuscitation and plans to apply to the Air Force Special Operations Surgical Team next year.
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Please Support Our Sponsors |
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Institutional Subscribers |
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The JSOM is incredibly grateful to have the support of many institutions around the world. We would like to thank our recent institutional subscribers and re-subscribers for their support by acknowledging them in our eNewsletter and, when applicable, sharing their social media information.
This newsletter, we welcome back 2 subscribers -
Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA
US Department of State - Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Blackstone, VA
We are glad to have you back!
Visit https://jsom.us/Library for a full list of institutions that are currently subscribing to the JSOM. We are beginning a campaign to expand our institutional subscriptions. If you think your company would benefit from an institutional subscription, let us know! We'll be happy to talk to you and get the ball rolling. You don't have to be a university or medical center to subscribe - we have many EMS units, government agencies, and military medical units both in the United States and abroad.
Are you on the list? Great! Need to know how to access our resources? You can either contact your head librarian, or shoot an email to subscriptions@JSOMonline.org.
Institutions receive either a print copy of our journal, digital access, or both. Digital subscribers have unlimited access to our full compendium of articles, journals, and the ATP-P. If you are a student, researcher, doctor, or other medical professional at one of these institutions, please contact your librarian for login details. Additionally, the digital resources are typically available 2-3 weeks ahead of print publication.
If your institution is not on the list and you would like more information about our institutional access, contact our subscriptions manager, Dr. Scott Graverson.
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Support the Journal of Special Operations Medicine |
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CAMP SIMBA, KENYA
DVIDS
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. John Perez, a medic with the 475th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron (EABS), gains IV access in a moving vehicle during joint training exercises with U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Airmen from the Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron Africa at Camp Simba, Kenya. The 475th EABS medics received tactical vehicle training and practiced life-saving tactical combat casualty care techniques. Special Tactics Airmen and medics respond to medical emergencies worldwide, including deployed environments where immediate treatment and evacuation of patients is critical for survivability.
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Journal of Special Operations Medicine
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