SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Eleven U.S. service members suffered concussive accidents in Iran’s January eight ballistic missile strike on the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq. Protection One, a web-based protection information website, reported this week that the wounded had been transferred to hospitals in Germany and Kuwait. Now, a press release from the U.S. Central Command confirmed the accidents regardless of President Trump’s declare that, quote, “no People had been harmed through the assault.”

Dr. Stephen Xenakis is a neuropsychiatrist and former brigadier basic in Washington, D.C. Dr. Xenakis, thanks a lot for being with us.

STEPHEN XENAKIS: Good to be with you.

SIMON: Assist us perceive. What’s a blast concussion?

XENAKIS: So a blast concussion is sort of a concussion the place the blast wave, the truth is, causes microscopic accidents to the mind.

SIMON: And, Physician, based mostly in your expertise, what does it say to you that these service members have been despatched overseas for therapy to U.S. protection services?

XENAKIS: Properly, it signifies that there is most likely one thing severe that must be evaluated. I imply, this incident occurred a couple of week in the past. A lot of the instances – and these troopers, service members who’ve been will get well inside a day or two. But when they’ve persevered, it signifies that one thing’s extra severe occurred. And so they’re being transferred to the medical middle in Landstuhl, which is the biggest hospital that the Division of Protection has outdoors of the continental United States to judge the service members after which begin the primary phases of therapy.

SIMON: And once more, based mostly in your expertise, Physician, are you aware what that analysis and care would possibly appear to be?

XENAKIS: There’s an intensive bodily examination, a neurological examination to see if there are any issues with motor motion, any issues with sensory perceptions. The service members can have steadiness issues, and that is one other signal that they’ve had a reasonably vital publicity. After which there will be MRIs to see if there’s another elements of their physique – organs could have been additionally injured.

SIMON: I suppose we have to perceive simply because a missile that explodes does not essentially bodily hurt a U.S. service member. There are nonetheless doubtlessly very severe accidents that simply the concussive blast can inflict.

XENAKIS: Completely. You recognize, the IED blast has been referred to as the signature damage of this struggle, not solely as a result of many casualties misplaced their limbs, significantly their legs, but in addition as a result of we have seen these sorts of issues of their pondering. They’ve persevered. And it is just like the soccer gamers. Over time, they’ll go on for a lot of months, typically years, and typically we’ll see that they did not have PTSD initially. However it’ll present up as their psychological state appears to worsen.

SIMON: The assertion issued mentioned the service members will most likely return to obligation after therapy, however is that all the time a good suggestion?

XENAKIS: It is combined. The service members themselves very a lot do not wish to consider themselves as being injured, however, the truth is, if they’ve been, then they’ll be struggling. And the clinician must be delicate to the pluses and minuses of returning the particular person to obligation and getting them supportive care if that is actually what they want.

SIMON: Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist and former brigadier basic, thanks a lot for being with us.

XENAKIS: Thanks a lot.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional info.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced utilizing a proprietary transcription course of developed with NPR. This textual content will not be in its last kind and could also be up to date or revised sooner or later. Accuracy and availability could fluctuate. The authoritative report of NPR’s programming is the audio report.