Explosion injuries (formerly Blast Injuries) explained…

 

 

Primary injury is produced solely from the pressure differences within tissues. Injuries typically occur in those areas of the body where an air-tissue interface is found (e.g., the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and ear).

Secondary injury is caused when objects displaced by the detonation strike the body. This can produce a combination of blunt and penetrating trauma.

Tertiary injury occurs when a body is physically propelled against other objects or crush injuries, such as when a body becomes entrapped in a structural collapse or vehicle.

Quaternary injury is related to the environmental factors associated with an explosion, including burns, exposures to toxic by-products or contamination.

Quinary injury describes cases in which inexplicable hemodynamic instability occurs in patients through other explosion-related phenomena. The Department of Defense also relates this injury to the intentional inclusion of physical or biological contaminants to an intended explosive device.

EMKF

Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation (EMKF) is a not-for-profit (NGO) public benefit organisation registered in Kenya