Lethal injuries among the members of the 4th Guardian Brigade of Croatian Army during the 1991-1995 war.
OBJECTIVE
We analyzed the causes of deaths among the members of the 4th Guardian Brigade (GB) of the Croatian Army during the war in Croatia from 1991 to 1995: the site of the lethal injuries, the type of wounds, and estimated the severity of injuries with lethal outcome according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study using the files and data obtained from 4th GB, Croatian Ministry of Defense, and Croatian Ministry of War Veterans.


RESULTS
During the War in Croatia from 1991 to 1995, 182 members of 4th GB were killed. One hundred fifteen (63.2%) suffered lethal injuries caused by shell fragments, 47 (25.8%) soldiers had gunshot wounds, and 20 ( 11.0%) died in traffic accidents. Mean Abbreviated Injury Scale for killed soldiers was 7.61 +/- 1.27.


CONCLUSIONS
During the war in Croatia, the leading causes of death were mines and explosions, and, in a minor proportion, gunshot wounds.
Situm
Mirna
M
Fourth Guardian Brigade of Croatian Army, Medical Corp, Department of Dermatovenerology, University Hospital ''Sestre Milosrdnice", Zagreb, Croatia.
Milinović
Ivo
I
Poje
Gorazd
G
Bućan
Zeljana
Z
Ozanić-Bulić
Suzana
S
D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014857:Warfare; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality*; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000401:mortality