Initial care of the severely wounded.

Abstract

Recent reports on the management of mass casualties in civilian disasters, such as the Waco, Texas, Worcester, Mass., and Flint, Mich., tornadoes 1 and the increased interest in civilian defense emphasize the importance of care of the severely wounded by the civilian physician. In preparing for the world of tomorrow, the civilian physician should familiarize himself with techniques of management of large numbers of wounded men. It is believed that the experiences gained from the study of combat casualties in Korea offer lessons that are applicable to civilian injuries as well as to battle wounds. The role of the company aid man may be likened to that of the ambulance attendant and the role of the battalion surgeon to that of the physician who first sees the patient. The type of care in the preoperative section of a forward surgical hospital is similar to that given in the emergency room