Abdominal wounds in war.

The reported mortality rate associated with abdominal wounds sustained in war varies considerably because of the heterogeneity of wounds and the different circumstances under which figures have been collected rather than different treatment strategies. This review draws together a personal experience, reports from ten wars, and information from a database for war wounded into an analysis of abdominal wounds. The analysis attempts to bring understanding to why people die with abdominal wounds in war and so clarifies logistic and treatment issues.