Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0024591 (malignant hyperthermia)
 2,353 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The implications of the collapse of a soldier early in an exercise from exertional heat illness (EHI) are considered. Such soldiers may be at risk from a genetic predisposition. Malignant hyperthermia (MH) and isolated and improbable cases of EHI may be just two different expressions of the same mutated gene sequence. The genetics of MH are complex and present knowledge is incomplete. The use of the in vitro contraction test (IVCT) on cases of EHI, in addition to its proven role in MH, would be helpful in examining the relationship between MH and EHI. It has been shown that some soldiers collapsing with EHI may have subsequent positive IVCTs. The test, however, sometimes produces false positives and, in addition, a positive result could be a consequence of a heat insult rather than an antecedent. Further studies to establish the incidence of positive IVCTs in relatives of EHI probands, and thus test for heritability, are required. There is, at the moment, only one example of proven MH and proven EHI occurring in the same individual. DNA from a 12-year-old boy who suffered MH and later died from the EHI and from his relatives showed relevant mutations as did the DNA of two of three soldiers who survived EHI. Hajj pilgrims, who collapse with heat illness, do not show such mutations, but the etiology is different. The sedentary pilgrims succumbed to a very high external ambient temperature, the active soldiers to a huge output of internal metabolic heat. Only eventual advances in defining the genetics of MH and EHI will resolve the present confusion of the relationship between the two conditions. Meanwhile, there is a need to bypass considerations of the etiology of EHI and to identify the vulnerable and handicapped soldier by exposure after an interval of time to one or more exercise tolerance tests.
Mil Med 2003 Jan
PMID:Collapse from exertional heat illness: implications and subsequent decisions. 1254 51

Assorted casualties are expected from combat. Triage of the wounded may result in some going directly to surgery. Although every minute is essential, anesthetic care of these trauma patients must adhere to all established standards of care. A timely preoperative assessment must include identifying the patient's risk for malignant hyperthermia (MH). If a patient is found to be malignant hyperthermia susceptible, all appropriate measures must be taken to provide the patient with a safe anesthetic. In the forward, austere military environment, anesthesia providers may experience logistical and manpower constraints when administering anesthesia. In this setting, it may be more even more crucial for preoperative recognition of MH and when this is not possible, focus must shift to perioperative detection and early treatment. The following case report emphasizes the importance of preoperative recognition and having an established MH protocol and access to dantrolene.
Mil Med 2005 Jun
PMID:Malignant hyperthermia susceptibility and the trauma patient. 1600 2

Potentially fatal operating room events have become largely preventable with advances in anesthesia and surgical technique. Nonetheless, some lethal emergencies remain unpredictable and can occur whenever general anesthesia is given. We describe a case of malignant hyperthermia encountered and treated during surgical operations concurrent with an overseas humanitarian assistance mission. This case highlights the clinical diversity of malignant hyperthemia as well as the importance of preparation for any potential adverse event wherever trigger agents may be used from the mundane to exotic locales.
Mil Med 2008 Aug
PMID:A case of malignant hyperthermia in a child encountered during a humanitarian assistance mission to the Philippines. 1875 2

We do not need a crystal ball to see the future. Our web-based future has already arrived in all other aspects of our lives--even our mobile phones. The tools for progress--Personal Health Records, Social Networks, and Online medical information--are widely available. The demand is at hand--Millennials are flexing consumer muscles as they enter the healthcare market. Real "Health Care Reform" requires fundamental changes in practice--which in turn requires effective use of information technologies and adaption to changing consumer expectations. The VHA and the MHS are uniquely capable of leveraging political, academic and technological forces to help move American health care through this millennial transformation. Federal health systems are positioned to demonstrate the value of innovation as America seeks healthcare reform.
Mil Med 2010 Jun
PMID:Millennial transformation for primary care. 2073 Dec 54

Since 1997, the absence of a global, DoD public health laboratory system has been identified as a vulnerability in the U.S. military's effort to identify and quickly respond to emerging infections. The AFHSC Division of GEIS Operations has attempted to mitigate this vulnerability by supporting initiatives such as the DoD Global Influenza Surveillance Program and the DoD Directory of Public Health Laboratory Services. AFHSC continues to be engaged in identifying and addressing diagnostics needed to protect deployed forces. The GASI and the enhanced capability for identification of MDROs and threatening influenza strains in deployed areas are recent examples of GEIS utilizing its financial resources and position as a DoD organization to coordinate the efforts of the military services and other U.S. government organizations to improve preparedness for EID agents. However, the absence of a defined, comprehensive public health system that contains surveillance systems, reference laboratories, and public health communication systems functioning in unison to provide reach back and reference laboratory support to the global MHS remains a significant gap.
Mil Med 2012 Mar
PMID:Influenza and wound infections: laboratory support for deployed U.S. forces. 2247 10

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT), despite its long history and safety profile, finds limited use in the military health care system. Although new methods are continually being investigated to debride wounds more quickly and effectively, MDT remains largely a therapy of last resort. We evaluated the frequency of MDT in the Army sector of the MHS and the decision-making process surrounding its use. A 22 question survey of Army physicians was prepared and distributed through select Medical Corps Consultants in specialties likely to practice debridement. 83% of respondents were familiar with MDT, and of those familiar, 63% were aware of FDA approval for the product and 10% had used the product themselves. The three most frequently cited reasons for not using the therapy were no need (52%), no access (23%), and insufficient experience (19%). Informing the 37% of physicians who are not aware of FDA approval is an obvious target for program improvement. However, as many do not find a need for MDT, targeted improvements to MDT access and education for those physicians who encounter indications for MDT would permit them to apply MDT where there is an unmet need.
Mil Med 2012 Nov
PMID:Maggot debridement therapy in modern army medicine: perceptions and prevalence. 2319 24

In 1980, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) graduated its first class of medical students. As a national university intended to produce "career-committed" military officers and future leaders of the Military Health System, USU functions as the service academy for military medicine and public health. More than 40 years after the school's charter and 5,000 graduates since the first class, we describe the original purpose of USU and provide an update on its achievements. In particular, we address the question of the "staying power" of the University's alumni-the degree to which graduation from the nation's military medical school is associated with long years of devoted service to military medicine. At a time when the MHS is confronting the challenge of extended deployments, rising health care costs, and a growing array of threats to our nation's health, we suggest that America needs USU now more than ever.
Mil Med 2015 Apr
PMID:America's medical school: 5,000 graduates since the "first class". 2585 Jan 19