Primary blast injuries
Savić, J.
Vojnosanitetski Pregled 48(6): 489-498
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-8450 PMID: 1807043 Document Number: 378458
Blast injuries are defined as injuries occurring under effects of blast wave caused by explosion. They can be primary (exclusively due to blast wave effects), secondary (impact of fragments from the environmental material), and tertiary (whole body displacement and impact into solid objects or ground). Today they are result of war operations, terrorist actions and accidents in industry and households. One of the basic characteristics of primary blast injury are severe and even fatal damages, primarily of air-containing organs (respiratory and digestive tracts, auditory system) with simultaneous lack of visible external signs of injuries. Except for magnitude and duration (over-pressure) of the blast wave, the severity of injury depends also on other factors. When the blast wave reaches the lethal level, most of the lethal cases occur during the first 2 hours after injury, and those who survive have good chance for recovery. Some measures and procedures can lessen the harmful effects of blast wave, however, effective protection is not available.