Public Health Emergency Preparedness
This resource was part of AHRQ's Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, which was discontinued on June 30, 2011, in a realignment of Federal efforts.
This information is for reference purposes only. It was current when produced and may now be outdated. Archive material is no longer maintained, and some links may not work. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing this information should contact us at: https://info.ahrq.gov. Let us know the nature of the problem, the Web address of what you want, and your contact information.
Please go to www.ahrq.gov for current information.
Table 7.2. Spectrum of Primary Blast Injury on Body Systems
| System |
Injuries |
| Respiratory |
Pulmonary contusion |
| Pulmonary hemorrhage |
| Respiratory failure |
| Stripped-epithelium lesion |
| Alveolo-venous fistula |
| Bronchopleural fistula |
| Pneumothorax |
| Traumatic emphysema |
| Air embolism |
| Acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| Gastrointestinal (GI) |
GI hemorrhage |
| GI perforation |
| Spleen or liver hemorrhage or rupture |
| Retroperitoneal hemorrhage |
| Tunica albuginea (testis) hemorrhage |
| Auditory |
Tympanic membrane rupture |
| Ossicular chain disruption |
| Cochlear nerve injury |
| Labyrinthine fistula |
| Perilymphatic fistula |
| Circulatory |
Coronary embolism |
| Myocardial contusion |
| Thrombosis/disseminated intravascular coagulation |
| Central nervous system (CNS) |
Cerebral air embolism |
| Retinal artery embolism |
Source: Sharpnack DD, Johnson AJ, Phillips Y. The Pathology
of Primary Blast Injury. In: Bellamy RF, Zajtchuk R, eds. Conventional Warfare: Ballistics, Blasts, and Burn Injuries. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army; 1991: 271-94
Return to Document
5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857