Observations on abdominal injuries in the Nigerian Civil War.
A retrospective study of 331 patients who sustained abdominal injuries during the Nigerian Civil War 1967-70 and were treated at Base Surgical Centres in the 3 Field Ambulance Nigerian Army is made. The most commonly injured organs are small intestine 148, caecum and colon 80, liver 69, spleen 26, stomach 28 and kidney 24. Case fatality rate is 33.8%. Factors influencing case mortality rate include type of organ injured, number of organs hit by penetrating missile, peri-operative complication. Other factors, not measurable in this study are mentioned. The few patients with injuries severally to the pancreas or the gall bladder who reached the operating table alive, all showed injuries to some other organs; these are among those with the highest mortality rates. Comparisons are made with similar studies from the Second World War 1942-45 and the Korean War 1952-53.
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3 Field Ambulance, Port Harcourt, Nigerian Army Medical Corps.
D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000401:mortality; D009549:Nigeria; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014857:Warfare