Injury patterns in peacekeeping missions: the Kosovo experience

Proper medical deployment planning requires projecting injuries. For this reason, the injury patterns and mechanism of injury were reviewed for an 18-month period in Kosovo, and injury rates and mechanisms were extracted for review. Overall, there were 404 trauma patients treated during the study period. Isolated head and neck injuries accounted for 29.5% (119) of injuries, chest wounds 5.7% (23), abdominal wounds 4.5% (18), and extremities 33.4% (135). Multiply injured patients accounted for the remaining 27.0% (109). When subdivided by mechanism, penetrating injury made up 36.9% (149), whereas blunt trauma accounted for 63.1% (255). Motor vehicle accidents made up the majority of blunt trauma (72.2%). Of penetrating injuries, gunshot wounds accounted for 55%, blast wounds 38%, and stabbings 6.7%. The data clearly demonstrate that humanitarian and peacekeeping missions require preparation for a wide variety of mechanisms of injury beyond the typical penetrating trauma of combat situations.