[Terrorist attack training exercise-What can be learned? : Baden-Württemberg counterterrorism exercise (BWTEX)].

BACKGROUND

There is a risk of terror attacks in the Federal Republic of Germany, which might increase in the future. A timely comprehensive strategy for treatment and care of a large number of casualties helps minimize chaos and improve the outcome of patients. Adequate training is vital for successful implementation of an emergency plan. Therefore, the effectiveness of training should be assessed and evaluated; however, data collection capabilities for training events are extremely limited, so that publications on the topic are almost impossible to find.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to collect data from a simulated terrorist attack in order to draw conclusions from a clinical point of view concerning the improvement of preclinical and clinical management, taking interface problems into consideration.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

On 19 October 2019 the Ministry of the Interior, Digitalization and Migration of Baden-Württemberg conducted a large-scale simulation of a terrorist attack in the city center of Constance, called the Baden-Württemberg counterterrorism exercise (BWTEX). The simulation included an explosion of a car bomb as well as the use of firearms by terrorists. The large scale of the simulation with the high number of participants in combination with close cooperation between military and civil forces was unprecedented. The police force, the armed forces, civil protection forces, air rescue teams and staff from Constance, Friedrichshafen and Sigmaringen regional hospitals in southwest Germany worked together to treat simulated injuries to victims of the attack. The following parameters were recorded when the injured patients arrived at the hospital: prehospital triage time, prehospital triage score, initial treatment and quality of documentation on site as well as triage time, triage score, injury severity scale (ISS) score based on the specified injury pattern, treatment, and quality of documentation on hospital arrival.

RESULTS

Out of a total of 84 "injured patients" 55 were admitted to hospital and 80% were triaged at the scene. Injured patients of triage category 1 (TK1 red: life-threatening injury, immediate treatment) arrived at the hospital 198 ± 50 min after the attack, injured patients of triage category 2 (TK2 yellow: severely injured, urgent treatment) after 131 ± 44 min and injured patients of triage category 3 (TK3 green: slightly injured, non-urgent treatment) arrived after 157 ± 46 min. There was no significant difference in terms of arrival time at the hospital between the triage scores (r = 0.2) or between the ISS scores (r = 0.43). The authors assume that approximately 44% of TK1 patients would have died due to avoidable time delays. Prehospital medical documentation was insufficient in 78% and insufficient in 65% in the hospitals.

CONCLUSION

A mass casualty incident resulting from a terrorist attack differs greatly from a conventional mass casualty incident. The scene of the attack has to be evacuated as quickly as possible, which means that a large number of patients arrive untreated at the nearest hospitals. The setting up of treatment facilities in city centers and areas close to the city seems to be counterproductive because the time delay may result in higher mortality rates of victims. The particularities of mass casualties caused by a terrorist attack have to be incorporated into terrorist attack training.