Hypothesis
The administration of large volumes of blood products at the acute stage will have a negative effect on veterans’ later cardiovascular health. The use of analgesia and sedation, including rapid sequence induction and patient-controlled analgesia, will result in a lower prevalence of chronic pain at baseline and follow-up. Blast injuries will not present in discrete stages but as multiple, non-sequential and interacting injuries.
Summary
This project aims to investigate whether the administration of blood products at the time of wounding impacts later cardiovascular health in injured veterans and whether analgesia and sedation given at the point of injury have an association with the later development of chronic pain. The hypothesis is that the administration of large volumes of blood products at the acute stage will have a negative effect on veterans’ later cardiovascular health and that the use of prehospital analgesia and sedation, including rapid sequence induction and patient-controlled analgesia, will result in a lower prevalence of chronic pain at baseline and follow-up due to better short-term acute pain control and reduced psychological trauma. We will also analyse the injury and prehospital intervention data for the exposed participants, categorising injuries overall and the relevant blast stages for participants with blast injuries. We will interact with other ADVANCE researchers with partially overlapping areas of interest and expertise.
Keywords
Medical Interventions, Analgesia, Chronic Pain, Cardiovascular Health, Injury Mechanism, Blast Injury