VERTEBRAL FRACTURE AFTER AIRCRAFT EJECTION DURING OPERATION DESERT-STORM

During Operation Desert Storm, 21 United States and 2 Italian military personnel were held in Iraq as prisoners of war. Of these, 18 had eje cted from fixed-wing, ejection seat-equipped, combat aircraft prior to their capture. Of the 18, 6 (33%) had sustained vertebral fractures; 4 of these were compression fractures. This fracture rate is comparabl e to that of previously studied groups. Fractures were noted to be at several different vertebral sites and after ejecting from a variety of aircraft. Apart from contusions and abrasions, vertebral fractures we re the most common injuries discovered in this repatriated population. None of the vertebral fractures produced recognizable neurological di sability. The development of vertebral fractures was neither associate d with the use of any particular ejection system or aircraft nor did t he development of vertebral fractures appear dependent on the age, hei ght or length of service of the affected personnel. Ejected aircrew wi th low altitude mission profiles seemed more predisposed to vertebral fracture than those at high altitudes, but with a small sample populat ion, this relationship was not statistically significant (p > 0.25). R eliable data were unavailable on aircrew positioning and preparation t ime for ejection.