Medische gevolgen van landmijnen: ervaringen van het Rode Kruis

To describe the medical consequences of land mine injuries.

Design

Retrospective study.

Method

total of 17.414 casualties of war, treated in five hospitals of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) over a three-year period were evaluated. 3264 of these casualties had anti-personnel mine injuries.

Results

Approximately one out of three land mine casualties underwent an amputation of the lower extremities (n = 1040). The number of operations and the blood requirements depended on the extent of the amputation. Hospital mortality was 3.8.

Conclusion

Amputees have a higher mortality and a longer hospital stay, need more blood and undergo more operations than non-amputated casualties. The social consequences are considerable, as well. Better protection against indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines is urgently necessary on medical grounds.