Health Outcomes and Medical Response in Military Maneuvers: A Study of Morbidity, Treatment, and Evacuation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Military maneuvers represent a health care challenge: They are essential for preventing occupational accidents and providing rapid and appropriate care for injuries and conditions resulting from physical exertion and extreme environments. OBJECTIVE: To describe and analyze medical support during military maneuvers and evaluate morbidity, treatments applied, and evacuation protocols in units from the Ceuta Command. METHODS: A prospective, observational, and analytical study was conducted over 2 weeks of maneuvers in Zaragoza, Spain. Demographic and clinical variables were included (type of injury, treatment, need for evacuation, and follow-up). Statistical analysis employed descriptive statistics and comparative tests (χ2 test and Student t test), considering P < .05 as the level of significance. RESULTS: A total of 219 medical consultations were recorded. Traumatic injuries accounted for 46.1% of the cases, followed by infections (20.1%). Only 6.8% required medical evacuation, and 14.2% required subsequent follow-up, demonstrating the effectiveness of in-field management (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Medical support deployed during the maneuvers presented a high rate of in-field resolution (93%) and confirmed that traumatic injuries are the leading cause of consultation. These findings highlight the need to maintain robust health care protocols and strengthen preventive measures to reduce morbidity in future exercises, directly addressing the objectives set.