[Infectious complications of combined injuries in large-scale catastrophes].

Main forms of infectious complications and their causes in large-scale catastrophes and baseline conditions were studied based on examination of 1463 casualties with combined injuries. The following parameters were analysed: mean injury severity (ISS and APACHE-II systems), shock severity, and blood volume deficit. The frequency of infectious complication of combined injuries was estimated with reference to severity of the major trauma and the number of affected body regions. Infectious complications were diagnosed in 46.6 and 30% of the casualties of natural cataclisms and car accidents respectively. They included wound suppuration (23.8%), osteomyelitis (17%), acute abscess (12.9%), sepsis (7.7%), and progressive peritonitis (6.7%). The incidence of complications directly correlated with the severity of injuries and shock, general conditions of the casualties, the character of the major injury, and the number of affected body regions.