Antecedents:

To carry out its assigned missions, the Armed Forces require the maximum effectiveness of its personnel, primarily when deployed abroad. The Medical Corps is responsible for the recovery of casualties in the area of operations. This requires the use of the best trained personnel and state-of-the-art health resources. Among these resources, the military Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) is a key element. It consists of different items including special-purpose dressings, that should be periodically renewed seeking the newest technologies, and highest effectiveness, versatility, lightness and ease of use. Hydrophobic dressings impregnated with dialkylcarbamoyl chloride (DACC) have the ability to absorb germs and fungi from wounds by a physical method, without using chemical active principles, achieving an antimicrobial action. They do not produce reactions entailing cell death in the wound bed that could delay cicatrization, or sensitization. Another notable quality is that the dressing does not need to be renewed within five days.

Objectives:

To assess the eventual inclusion of dressings with the above mentioned features in military standard kits.

Material and Method:

Direct observation of wound treatment with these dressings, and assessment using an adapted Resvech 2.0 scale.

Results:

In the 19 cases studied, a drop in the scale of measurement was observed from the first cure on, with a decreasing of the infection and acceleration in the healing. Neither bacterial resistances nor contact irritations were developed and the dressings did not adhere to the wound bed upon removal.

Conclusions:

These dressings fulfill military needs and its eventual inclusion in vmilitary IFAKs is highly recommended, it would help increase the operational capability of soldiers in the theater of operations thanks to its characteristics.