War injuries during the Gulf War: experience of a teaching hospital in Kuwait

The war injuries of 361 patients admitted to Mubarak Al-Kabeer Teaching Hospital, during the Gulf War are reported. More abdominal and chest injuries were seen in this series in comparison with other conflicts owing to the short evacuation time. Of the injuries, 54% were caused by gunshots, 34% were fragment injuries and 5.5% were glass and stab injuries. Civilians accounted for 50% of the injured. Wound infection rate was 7%, average hospital stay was 8.8 days and hospital mortality was 5.5%. We advocate radical wound excision, exploration of penetrating wounds of neck and abdomen, and mainly conservative management of chest injuries that do not involve the mediastinum.