A descriptive analysis of wounds among U.S. Marines treated at second-echelon facilities in the Kuwaiti theater of operations.

Medical data from 120 U.S. Marine Corps trauma admissions to second-echelon facilities during Operation Desert Shield/Storm were examined. Sixty-five percent of the admissions occurred between February 22 and February 28, the time frame corresponding to the ground war and the preliminary mobilization period. Penetrating wounds were the most prevalent types of injury, followed by lacerations, open fractures, and closed fractures. The most frequent anatomical regions sustaining injuries were the leg, head, hand, and arm. Fragments were the causative agent of 63% of the admissions that had this variable recorded, while gunfire was the cause in 20% of the cases. The median injury-to-admission interval increased from 0.67 hours in the non-ground war period to 4.41 during the ground war.