Ramalingam T, Pathak G, Barker P
Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham UK.
Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2005 Mar;87(2):113-6. doi: 10.1308/1478708051685.
The majority of battle casualties undergoing surgery at 34 Field Hospital, the sole Coalition field hospital in Iraq during the conflict, sustained injuries to the extremities. To compare our experiences with those from previous conflicts, we report data on major limb amputations and propose a method for determining the rate of major limb amputation in a conflict setting.
A retrospective review of battle casualties admitted to the hospital was carried out based on casualty records and operating theatre logbooks. Data were collected for the period 26 March and 8 May 2003, focusing on casualties undergoing surgery for battle-injured extremities during the conflict.
68 (55%) casualties underwent surgery for battle injuries to extremities. Six upper and eight lower limb amputations (proximal to carpals and tarsals) were carried out from a total of 87 battle-injured limbs that had surgery, giving an overall amputation rate of 16% (14/87).
In presenting our amputation rate of 16%, we highlight the lack of uniformity in describing 'amputation rates' between conflicts. A consistent method for quantifying amputations performed in a conflict setting could prove to be a useful tool.
在冲突期间，伊拉克唯一的联军野战医院——第34野战医院，接受手术治疗的大部分战斗伤员四肢受伤。为了将我们的经验与以往冲突中的经验进行比较，我们报告了主要肢体截肢的数据，并提出了一种在冲突环境中确定主要肢体截肢率的方法。
基于伤亡记录和手术室日志，对收治入院的战斗伤员进行回顾性研究。收集了2003年3月26日至5月8日期间的数据，重点关注冲突期间因战斗导致四肢受伤而接受手术治疗的伤员。
68名（55%）伤员因战斗导致的四肢损伤接受了手术。在总共87条接受手术的战斗受伤肢体中，进行了6例上肢截肢和8例下肢截肢（腕骨和跗骨近端），总体截肢率为16%（14/87）。
在呈现我们16%的截肢率时，我们强调了冲突之间在描述“截肢率”方面缺乏一致性。一种在冲突环境中量化截肢手术的一致方法可能被证明是一种有用的工具。
