Injuries due to landmine blast referred to Shahid Motahhary Hospital, Iran

The health system faced a new problem of an increasing number of civilian victims of landmine explosions at the
end of Iran-Iraq war .
Methods: In a descriptive survey from 1998 to 2004, data was collected retrospectively from medical records of Shahid Motahhary
Hospital, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Result: The study covered 156 victims. 80% of the casualties were civilians of which 95% were male. Injuries led to amputation
in 73.3% of the victims. The mortality rate was 3.8%. Blood transfusions was given to 93 (62%) victims. There were 52.6%
pattern I, 14.6% pattern II and 32.6% pattern III injuries according to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
classification.
Conclusion: Mine awareness programs should be conducted amongst civilians who live in high-risk areas. Improved health infrastructure
with trained personals for emergency care and early transfer of the casualties would reduce morbidity and mortality.
Studies are required to understand the social and public health consequences of this problem