Overview and recommendations for medical screening and diagnostic evaluation for postdeployment lung disease in returning US warfighters

Abstract

Objective: To review inhalational exposures and respiratory disease risks in US military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and to develop consensus recommendations for medical screening and diagnostic referral.

Methods: A Working Group of physicians and exposure scientists from academia and from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs was convened in February 2010.

Results: Despite uncertainty about the number of people affected and risk factors for adverse pulmonary outcomes in this occupational setting, the Working Group recommended: (1) standardized approaches to pre- and postdeployment medical surveillance; (2) criteria for medical referral and diagnosis; and (3) case definitions for major deployment-related lung diseases.

Conclusions: There is a need for targeted, practical medical surveillance for lung diseases and for a standardized diagnostic approach for all symptomatic deployed personnel.