A descriptive analysis of casualties evacuated from the Africa area of operations

We describe trauma cases reported in the Africa Command (AFRICOM) area of operations to date within the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DODTR).MethodsWe queried the DODTR for all subjects evacuated from the AFRICOM area of operations from January 2002 to June 2017.ResultsThere were 49 subjects in the registry during our time frame from AFRICOM. Most of the evacuations came from Djibouti (53%). The median age was 29 years, most evacuees being male (92%). Non-battle injuries accounted for most of the injuries (82%), and most were US military (90%). All battle injuries were gunshot wounds (GSW). Composite injury scores were low (median 4, IQR 4–9.5). All subjects survived to hospital discharge. GSWs (22%) and sports injuries (24%) accounted for most evacuations. Serious injuries most frequently involved the extremities (18%) and the thorax (12%). The most frequent major injuries were open fractures (22%) and abdominal injuries (10%). The most frequent facility-based interventions performed were wound debridement (29%) and fracture/joint dislocation reduction (22%).DiscussionBased on this dataset, most of the injuries from AFRICOM were non-battle injuries. All battle injuries were GSWs. Our study highlights the differences in casualty care needs in this region which contrast the primary explosive-based injuries seen within United States Central Command (CENTCOM) operations. The limitations of this dataset highlight the potential value of a Joint Trauma Service (JTS) da...
Source: African Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research