An analysis of 2811 chest casualties of the Korean conflict.

In this paper we present an analysis of the 2811 chest casualties of the Korean Conflict which were treated at Tokyo Army Hospital between the beginning of the war and March 1953. A previous report covering 1535 of these casualties has been published.21 However, this paper adds more than 1000 cases and contains data w hich was not available at the time of the previous report. Some conclusions are repeated because additional experiences only served to bear out their validity. Tokyo Army Hospital was the center for treatment of thoracic casualties. Approximately 85 per cent of our patients were United States military personnel and 15 per cent were members of forces contributed to the Korean effort by other United Nations. During the first few months of the conflict, definitive treatment could not be administered overseas because casualties could be hospitalized in the theater only 30 days. However, as the bed capacity increased, the period of hospitalization was increased to 120 days, making definitive treatment possible. In this series we have included only those patients who suffered injuries to the intrathoracic viscera and do not include those with only superficial wounds of the chest. Of these wounds, 1968 (70 per cent), were of the penetrating type, 787 (28 per cent), of the perforating type and 56 (2 per cent), were results of crushing injuries.