Secret of Health

A New England Journal of Medicine Reports Lung Damage in Soldiers

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A New England Journal of Medicine Reports Lung Damage in Soldiers
by Meharry Medical College - 7/22/2011NASHVILLE, TENN. — Research was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine regarding a case study on lung damage found in veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dr. Matthew S. King, assistant professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Meharry Medical College, and Dr. Robert Miller of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, spent six years compiling a descriptive case series examining soldiers referred from the Ft. Campbell military base in Kentucky who had shortness of breath. All of the soldiers reported exposure to smoke or polluted air while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Of 80 soldiers referred from Ft. Campbell, 49 received open lung biopsy. All 49 were abnormal and 38 of them demonstrated a condition known as constrictive bronchiolitis, a rare condition in otherwise healthy individuals that is generally untreatable.

“We believe the damage in soldiers is caused by an inhalation exposure with which they have contact while in Southwest Asia,” King said. Most of the soldiers in the study had a track record of good health, but since the exposure they have been unable to complete the required physical standards for the military and were unable to continue active duty.

King has testified before the U.S. Senate to raise awareness of the issue. A copy of the article, “Constrictive Bronchiolitis in Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,” published in the New England Journal of Medicine may be obtained by emailing cyeldell@mmc.edu