Acute care

Abstract

Experience with human space flight has taught us that serious illnesses can occur during missions. The crew medical officer (CMO) who is assessing the seriously ill or injured crewmember faces several challenges. The CMO not only must correctly diagnose the problem so as to prevent either a premature end to the mission or an increase in crewmember morbidity from delaying return, but also must work with limited resources in an extreme environment, the effects of which on humans are poorly understood. This chapter summarizes the experience gained in diagnosing and treating acute medical problems in space and provides recommendations for treating expected problems in future space flights. © 2008 Springer-Verlag New York.