Treatment of casualties of military conflicts at the Critical Medicine Clinic of the Central Hospital in Georgia.

INTRODUCTION Local military conflicts continue in many areas of the world. These conflicts produce multiple casualties to military personnel and civilians. This paper describes one aspect of the medical care required for victims of the civil conflict in the Republic of Georgia. METHODS Interviews with patients and their accompanying persons and abstraction of medical records. RESULTS Data were acquired on 108 victims admitted to the Center for Critical Medicine in Tbilisi. Three stages in the care of these victims are described: 1) battlefield and transportation; 2) regional, front-line hospitals; and 3) the Central Hospital. The performance of each stage is described. Distribution of injuries and procedures performed in the third stage of treatment are described and survivors are defined. For illustration, two cases are reviewed in detail. CONCLUSIONS The results are encouraging. Major problems existed in the treatment and evacuation of the wounded. Furthermore, many of the victims were injured because of their carelessness and lack of experience on the battlefield.