THE INCIDENCE AND OUTCOME OF PENETRATING AND BLUNT TRAUMA IN CENTRAL BOSNIA - THE NOVA BILE HOSPITAL FOR WAR WOUNDED

Objectives: Since February 1992, the civil war in the former Yugoslavi a has left over 140,000 people dead. This study describes the injuries and outcome of patients treated at a provisional war hospital in Bosn ia and compares mortality rates with war hospitals from prior armed co nflicts. Design: This is a retrospective review of 1,703 trauma patien ts treated between March 1993 and October 1993 at the Nova Bila War Ho spital. Results: In Bosnia, the overall mortality was 10.3% (5.0% dead on arrival and 5.3% inhospital deaths). Head injuries, seen in 19.2% of patients, had a mortality of 23.8%. The odds of sustaining a gunsho t wound were 2.8 times greater in Bosnia than in Vietnam (p < 0.05). T he odds of sustaining a head injury were 1.1 to 1.6 times greater in B osnia than in Lebanon and Afghanistan (p < 0.05). The overall mortalit y odds in Bosnia were 3.1 times greater than in Vietnam (p < 0.001), b ut were equal to those in Lebanon and Afghanistan. Conclusions: Despit e limited personnel and supplies, the inhospital mortality rate was co mparable with those found in other war hospitals. The Nova Bila Hospit al represents a unique response to the great medical need brought abou t by the continued fighting in the former Yugoslavia.