Analysis of medical aid to Croatian Army soldiers wounded at the front line

Objective: Analysis of medical aid to Croatian Army soldiers at the front lines. Methods: This investigation concerned 115 severely wounded Croatian soldiers (males, median age 29 years, range 17-57 years) at three rehabilitation institutions. All had been wounded at the front line by various explosive devices or bullets. In the investigation, semi-structured clinical interviews were used. Results: First aid was provided to 47 soldiers (40.9%) within 15 minutes and to 44 soldiers (38.3%) within I hour. First aid was either self-administered or given by fellow combatants in 55 cases (47.8%), by physicians in 37 cases (23.2%), and by medical technicians and orderlies in 21 cases (18.2%). The basic procedures of medical aid were hemostasis, hemodynamic substitution, immobilization, and analgesia. First surgical operations were performed at health stations on 4 soldiers (3.5%), at war hospitals on 43 soldiers (37.4%), and at evacuation hospitals on 68 soldiers (59.1%). Conclusion: First aid either self-administered or provided by fellow combatants is the most important procedure at the front lines before medical aid is administered.