The inpatient experience of a U.S. Army combat support hospital in the Persian Gulf during non-combat and combat periods.

To identify the key factors that control the workload of a U.S. military hospital during deployment, we studied all 574 admissions to the 46th Combat Support Hospital (CSH) during its deployment during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Date of admission, admission diagnosis, admitting service, length of hospitalization, disposition, nationality, and sex for each admission were analyzed. The workload of the 46th CSH varied markedly during the different periods of its deployment. Three hundred seventy-eight (66%) of the 574 admissions occurred during Operation Desert Shield, although admissions occurred at the greatest rate during the short Ground War phase of Operation Desert Storm. Iraqis accounted for 82% of the admissions during the Ground War and 51% of the total Desert Storm admissions. The most important factors determining the workload of the 46th CSH were the combat situation, effectiveness of the air-evacuation system, and the obligation to treat enemy soldiers and civilians.