Therapeutic Urogenital Modalities during the Last Three Years of the Iran and Iraq War (1985–1987)

Abstract

Research projects in the field of military medicine have a central role in medical logistical planning. Treatment of traumatic lesions (including urogenital system injuries) is an important aspect of military medicine. Triage for urogenital injuries has specific problems and points of concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role and different types of therapeutic modalities in the treatment of urogenital injuries during the final 3 years of the Iran and Iraq War (1985-1987). In a descriptive-analytical study, records of 1,094 patients with urogenital injuries hospitalized from 1985 to 1987 were studied. A checklist and the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences (version 6) were used for data collection and analysis, respectively. A chi 2 test interpreted part of the data. The highest incidence of urogenital injuries and the highest rate of surgical interventions for urogenital injuries were in 1986 and 1987, respectively. The total incidence of urogenital injuries was 0.51%. Among all surgical interventions, bladder repair was most frequent and ureteral repair was least frequent. Partial nephrectomy was the second most frequent surgical intervention and was performed more often than total nephrectomy. There was a significant difference between the urogenital surgery rate and the total surgery rate (chi 2 = 148, p = 0.000). The results suggest progress in the triage of patients with urogenital injuries. The lower incidence of urogenital injuries, however, should be interpreted cautiously because it may be attributable to different combat field conditions. Follow-up studies in this group of patients are necessary.