Paediatric casualties during OP TELIC

Area of Science:

• Military Medicine
• Paediatric Emergency Care
• Trauma Surgery

Background:

• Paediatric casualties in military settings require specific considerations for medical units.
• Understanding the patterns of paediatric attendance in field hospitals is crucial for operational readiness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To audit all paediatric attendances at a British Army Field Hospital during a warfighting operation.
• To analyze the types of injuries and outcomes for children treated in a deployed military medical facility.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of Accident & Emergency (A&E) attendance registers, clinical records, and trainee logbooks.
• Inclusion criteria: patients under 16 years old presenting during the OPTELIC warfighting phase (March-May 2003).

Main Results:

• Seventy-eight children (<16 years) were treated, with a mean age of 7.9 years.
• Children constituted 2.9% of total attendances and 32.9% of non-coalition patients.
• Burns (56%) were the most common injury, followed by shrapnel injuries (9%) and blunt trauma (6%); 17% were medical complaints.
• 78% of paediatric patients required transfer to a specialist facility.

Conclusions:

• Paediatric casualties represent a notable proportion of patients in deployed military hospitals, particularly among non-coalition populations.
• Effective planning, training, and equipping of medical units are essential to manage paediatric casualties during future military operations.