Friday, July 18, 2008

Army Shooting Live Pigs for Medical Training

I just read this article on CNN that the Army will be shooting live pigs in order to train some of their military personnel on how to treat critical gunshot wounds in the field.

I was a medic in the Air Force and also trained as a civilian paramedic at the Oregon Health Sciences University. While at OHSU, we did do one procedure on a live pig that was sedated. There is a procedure called a cut down that is used when one is absolutely unable to get an IV started because the patient is hypovolemic. You cut into the flesh to actually get to a vein and start an IV. Our pig was not euthanized as this procedure is not that invasive, but I remember being traumatized that we were practicing on a live animal. I guess one could argue if it is better to practice on a live patient, but I guess I might argue yes. If you are attempting that procedure, it is because that person needs it. The first live patient intubations I performed were on folks undergoing surgery. But the first time I intubated someone in the field under an emergency situation, it still felt different and scary. (Luckily, I had no problems - phew!) Anyway, if we had sedated someone or some animal for the sole purpose of intubation, I think I would have had issue. Sedation has its issues and intubation is an irritant. Taking that many steps forward to shooting an animal seems wrong.

In the military as a medic, we are trained obviously to treat gunshot wounds. But the reality is that the procedures you perform in the field can not fix the wound. They treat the symptoms and try to keep the patient alive until a surgeon can remove the bullet, repair vasculature, etc. as appropriate. Sealing a wound, stopping sucking chest wounds, providing fluids, providing oxygen, etc can be done as practice on dummies. Field exercises with elaborate makeup and triage practice made things a bit more realistic for practice and knowing who to treat, not treat, and when. But the reality is, until you're right there with someone actually bleeding, perhaps seeing egregious wounds, and possibly screaming their head off, you will be 'freaked out'. I really don't see the point of shooting a live and sedated animal. Keep in mind, they are training all the personnel of some units, not just the medics. This tells me even more so that they are limiting the treatments to what I stated above. There is no reason a live animal makes sense for this training.

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7 comments:

David said...

As you indicate, the practice of wounding animals to simulate combat trauma has been around for decades. Why the sudden outrage by PETA and others? Were they not already aware of the practice?

Anonymous said...

ER Docors and nurses are quite adept at treating gunshot wounds WITHOUT live pigs. Why not go to any urban Emergency Room on a Saturday night and treat all the gunshot wounds you want -- without torturing animals.

Susannity said...

David - the pig procedure I did was at OHSU, a medical school, not in the Air Force. I could argue that finding a vein in someone's ankle is an invasive procedure and therefore I could understand the argument for practicing on a live patient (in this case a pig). Of course, some of the new dummies for practicing this procedure are pretty good imho. However, the pig shooting to train I don't understand. There is no value add for doing it on a live patient. None of the procedures that they would have the military do on the pig needs an actual gunshot wound. Does that make sense? I eat meat and understand the need to sometimes use animals for the betterment of humanity, but only if it can be justified with no alternative. Anonymous raises a good point on working in the ER, though it would be dependent on the area. When I worked in KCMO as a paramedic, had lots of GSWs to practice on.

Anonymous said...

I don't have a medical background but it sounds like you do. Military experience too. Why do you think they are doing this? There must be some need.

Susannity said...

Anon - You have a much better outlook than I do. =) I do not always believe that something has a good reason behind it because it is the path chosen. First reaction, this may seem like a good choice as it tries to amplify reality, but I do not think there is a valid need for the live animal.

Anonymous said...

Hi David
In response to the article of shooting a live pig for the purpose of learning how to treat our men in the battlefields, it is wrong - bad enough the animal is giving up it's life for us but to be shot - operated on and God knows what is morally wrong - you are still putting the animal thru unnecessary pain and suffering. It is so different on the field with everything going on around you , I agree with the person who said go to an Emergency Room at hospsitals,and you can see gunshot wounds, knife wounds there are a couple of them there every night in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and they can get the real thing and real experience. My brother-in-law is a quadapeliegic from Vietnam and he says this would not be the experience and learning and preparing you for the horrors you see on the actual battlefield and its people bleeding or its your best buddy with his legs shot off.. Spare the animals.
BB

Anonymous said...

Hi David
In response to the article of shooting a live pig for the purpose of learning how to treat our men in the battlefields, it is wrong - bad enough the animal is giving up it's life for us but to be shot - operated on and God knows what is morally wrong - you are still putting the animal thru unnecessary pain and suffering. It is so different on the field with everything going on around you , I agree with the person who said go to an Emergency Room at hospsitals,and you can see gunshot wounds, knife wounds there are a couple of them there every night in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and they can get the real thing and real experience. My brother-in-law is a quadapeliegic from Vietnam and he says this would not be the experience and learning and preparing you for the horrors you see on the actual battlefield and its people bleeding or its your best buddy with his legs shot off.. Spare the animals.
BB