Medical statistics of battlefield casualties.

War surgery presents conditions and problems that are radically different from those of peacetime surgery. Categorization of the injured may be necessary (triage), while a short or erratic supply of drugs, materials and personnel may exist. In this study, the hospital mortality following military action was 6.4 per cent. In the group of patients with combined thoracoabdominal injuries mortality was high. However, the inflow of this type of patient was relatively low. In 50 per cent of the cases, ketamine/benzodiazepine anaesthesia without intubation and artificial ventilation was sufficient, with the result that the use of oxygen and nitrous oxide was minimized.