In the news:
Originally published February 4, 2012 at 12:27 PM | Page modified February 4, 2012 at 9:01 PM
In Afghan war, rate of post-injury survival rises
A recent report by the Congressional Research Service, "Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians," sketches out the remarkable ability of military physicians and nurses to save the lives of grievously wounded troops.
WASHINGTON — There has probably never been a war in which there has been as much on-the-job improvement in the care of the wounded than there has been in the United States' war in Afghanistan. Of course, at 10 years and counting, there has been a lot of time for practice.
That truth is evident in a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, "Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians."
It sketches out the remarkable ability of military physicians and nurses to save the lives of grievously wounded troops.
Last year, 415 American men and women died in Afghanistan, while 5,159 were wounded and survived.
That ratio — 12.4 survivors for every fatality — marked a record high over the past decade. In fact, the ratio has been growing almost every year since 2001.
In 2007, the first year in which battlefield deaths in Afghanistan surpassed 100, there were only 6.4 survivors for every fatality. The ratio dipped slightly in 2008 but has increased ever since.
In 2006, approximately 9.8 percent of wounded service members died either on the battlefield or after leaving it in Afghanistan and Iraq. During the Vietnam War, that figure, the "case fatality rate," was 16 percent. During World War II, it was 19 percent.
These days, if you make it to a hospital alive, your chances of surviving are excellent.
Start the conversation >