Explosions can produce unique patterns of injury seldom seen outside combat. When they do occur, they have the potential to inflict multi-system life-threatening injuries on many persons simultaneously. Because explosions are relatively infrequent, blast-related injuries can present unique triage, diagnostic, and management challenges to providers of emergency care.Few U.S. health professionals have experience with explosive-related injuries. Explosion incidents in West Texas and Boston, Massachusetts have emphasized the need for disaster response personnel to understand the unique pathophysiology of injuries associated with explosions and to be prepared to assess and treat the victims.This one-day course, adapted from materials on the CDC’s website, introduces information relevant to the initial assessment and care of casualties from explosives and blast injuries.

Basic Disaster Life Support (BDLS) – BDLS v. 3.0 is an eight-hour, competency based, awareness-level course that introduces concepts and principles to prepare health professionals for the management of injuries and illness caused by disasters and public health emergencies. The primary focus of the BDLS course is to apply the principles and concepts of mass-casualty management and population-based care to natural disasters, traumatic and explosive events, nuclear and radiologic events and biological and chemical events. The course addresses the role of health professionals in the incident management system, the physical and psychosocial implications of disaster events and the special needs of underserved and vulnerable populations.

Advanced Disaster Life Support (ADLS) – ADLS v. 3.0 offers an advanced practicum for individuals who have completed BDLS. This intensive, operations-level course trains participants in mass-casualty decontamination, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), SALT (sort, assess, lifesaving interventions, treatment/transport) triage and the application of critical lifesaving interventions. Through the use of interactive sessions and exercises with high-fidelity mannequins and volunteer patients, the course creates a realistic, practical experience in mass-casualty management. The two-day course includes both classroom and hands-on training.