Review: The Influence of Armed Conflict on the Development of Critical Care Medicine

This manuscript reviews the historic underpinnings of critical care medicine (CCM) during armed conflict, the means and techniques healthcare providers in the military have used to practice CCM in austere environments, and the ongoing developments in the practice of CCM by military health care clinicians. These developments influence contemporary civilian trauma practice and practice in intensive care units and vice versa. A symbiosis between civilian and military intensivists and traumatologists involves much crosstalk and sharing of experiences and best practices that has influenced and improved care in combat zones and in civilian emergency departments, operating rooms, and intensive care units.