Ron Ben-Abraham, MD, Michael Stein, MD, Gideon Paret, MD, Avishy Goldberg, MD, Joshua Shemer, MD and Yoram Kluger, MD.
Background: In the military environment it is the medics who usually provide the initial care of mass casualties in the field.
Objectives: To determine the number of incidents of trauma encountered by medics in the Israel Defense Forces during peacetime, and to ascertain the role of these medics in providing primary trauma care to the victims.
Methods: A retrospective questionnaire, reviewing the activities of medics in treating injured trauma victims, was distributed to medics who were in service for at least 2 years after their professional training.
Results: Of the 128 responding medics, 87 (68%) had actively participated in the treatment of trauma victims under various circumstances. The average number of trauma events was 1.2 events over a period of 2 years per combat medic, and 0.7 for medics stationed in rear units. Their activities included insertion of numerous intravenous fluid lines (57% of medics), assistance in intubations (37%), tube thoracostomies (23%), insertions of central catheters (14%) or orogastric tubes (28%), and manual ventilations (41%).
Conclusion: Since it is difficult to increase the level of practical experience in dealing with trauma within the military framework, new techniques should be applied to improve the trauma training.
Moshe Salai, MD, Moshe Pritsch, MD, Yehuda Amit, MD, Amnon Israeli, MD and Aharon Chechick, MD.
Background: Bone banking and the clinical use of banked tissue are the most common forms of allopreservation and transplantation in modern medicine.
Objectives: This article reviews 25 years (1973–98) of experience in bone banking in Israel.
Methods: A nationwide survey on the clinical application of the banked musculoskeletal tissues during 1996 was conducted by means of a written questionnaire sent to all orthopedic departments in Israel.
Results: The response rate to the questionnaire was 84%. A total of 257 cases were allocated bone allografts: the majority comprised 225 spongy bones, 26 were massive bone allografts and 6 were soft tissue allografts.
Conclusion: Improvement of quality control and quality assurance of the banked tissues, together with development of skills in the use of osteoinductive and osteoconductive materials, cast the future of musculoskeletal tissue banking.
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* A Tribute to Professor Henry Horoszowski
Derek Le-Roith, MD, Michael Karas, MD, Shoshana Yakar, MD, Bao-He Qu, MD, Yiping Wu, MD, and Vicky A. Blakesley, MD.
Pnina Langevitz, MD, Avi Livneh, MD, Shai Padeh, MD, Nurit Zaks, MD, Yael Shinar, MD, Deborah Zemer, MD, Elon Pras, MD, and Mordechai Pras, MD.
Sandra Reynoso-Paz, MD, Ross L. Coppel, MD, Aftab A. Ansari MD, and M.Eric Gershwin, MD
Ben Zion Garty, MD, Itzhak Levy, MD, and Zvi Laron, MD.
Hertzel Salman, MD, Pearl I. Herskovitz, MD, Simcha Brandis, MD, Michael Bergman, MD, Dror Dicker, MD, and Izhar Zahavi, MD.
Joel Sayfan, MD, and Ada Rosen, MD.
Avishai Ziser, MD, Ludmila Guralnik, MD, Robert Markovits, MD, Yousif Matanis, MD, and Genia Mahamid, MD.
Michael Gdalevich, MD, Daniel Mimouni, MD, Isaac Ashkenazi, MD, and Joshua Shemer ,MD.
Dan Regev, MD, Yoram Wolf, MD, and Daniel Hauben, MD.
Ittai Shavit, MD, Naim Shehadeh, MD, Osnat Zmora, MD, Israela Avidor, MD, and Amos Etzioni, MD.