Analysis of combat casualties admitted to the emergency department during the negotiation of the comprehensive Colombian process of peace.

Abstract

Aim: Our objective was to describe the variations in casualties admitted to the emergency department during the period of the negotiation of the comprehensive peace agreement in Colombia between 2011 and 2016.Methods: A retrospective study of all hostile military casualties managed at a regional Level I trauma center from January 2011 to December 2016. Patients were subsequently divided into two groups: those seen before the declaration of the process of peace truce (November 2012) and those after (negotiation period). Variables were compared with respect to periodsResults: A total of 448 hostile casualties were registered. There was a gradual decline in the number of admissions to the emergency department during the negotiation period. The number of soldiers suffering blast and rifle injuries also decreased over this period. In 2012 there were nearly 150 hostile casualties' admissions to the ER. This number decreased to 84, 63, 32 and 6 in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Both, the proportion of patients with an ISS ≥9 and admitted to the intensive care unit were significantly higher in the period before peace negotiation. From August to December/2016 no admissions of war casualties were registered.Conclusion: We describe a series of soldiers wounded in combat that were admitted to the emergency department before and during the negotiation of the Colombian process of peace. Overall, we found a trend toward a decrease in the number of casualties admitted to the emergency department possibly in part, as a result of the period of peace negotiation.