Are we prepared for a NATO Treaty case? : What can we learn from caring for Ukrainian war wounded over the past 3.5 years?

Raschke MJ; Lechleuthner AM; Hirsch T

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, approximately 2000 war casualties have been treated in Western Europe and of these 324 patients were distributed to North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) via the SPoC.NRW cloverleaf system. The types of injuries and the required medical specialties were determined as well as their distribution transferred to the structures of the German Society for Trauma Surgery (DGU local, regional, supraregional trauma centers). As expected, 94% of the injured were between 21 and 60 years old, 66% of the injuries affected the upper extremities (26.6%) and the lower extremities (39.8%). The required departments were evaluated based on the affected locations. This revealed that in addition to trauma surgery (89%), plastic surgery (61%) and general surgery (8%) were predominantly required. In interdisciplinary treatment the typical head and neck specialties (neurology, ENT, ophthalmology, maxillofacial surgery = 19%) were involved. Ukrainian war casualties treated in hospitals in NRW that were willing to accept such patients have so far received very good care. The distribution of Ukrainian war casualties treated in NRW shows a concentration in supraregional trauma centers (55%). In the event of a military intervention, it is anticipated that over 1000 patients requiring treatment will arrive in Germany every day. These first data provide insights into future needs of medical care.