Table 14.
Mechanism of injury, primary injury sustained and lifesaving interventions received by ‘validated clinical unexpected survivors’ (n = 75).
| mechanism of injury | number | primary injury sustained (body region) | number | life-saving interventiona | number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSW | 17 | lower extremities (28) | catastrophic bleeding (haemostatics) | ||
| IED | 15 | traumatic amputation—unilateral | 13 | CAT | 28 |
| mine | 13 | traumatic amputation—bilateral | 6 | HemCon | 3 |
| RPG | 8 | arterial laceration | 2 | QuikClot | 4 |
| mortar | 6 | >20% volume loss | 2 | airway | |
| MVC | 4 | fractured pelvic ring | 2 | PH RSI | 9 |
| bomb | 6 | fractured lower limb | 3 | ED RSI | 35 |
| aircraft | 1 | upper extremities (1) | intubation without drugs | 4 | |
| rocket | 1 | fractured upper limb | 1 | surgical airway | 2 |
| assault | 1 | thorax (12) | breathing | ||
| grenade | 1 | haemopneumothorax | 6 | intercostal drainage | 8 |
| UXO | 1 | tension pneumothorax | 1 | Asherman chest seal | 3 |
| unknown | 1 | blast lung | 2 | thoracostomy | 1 |
| heart laceration perforation | 1 | thoracotomy | 1 | ||
| avulsion of chest wall | 1 | circulation | |||
| transected oesophagus | 1 | massive transfusion protocol | 44 | ||
| external (2) | rFVIIa | 21 | |||
| burns partial/full thickness 40–89% | 2 | intraosseous access | 13 | ||
| abdomen (6) | pericardiocentesis | 1 | |||
| superior mesenteric artery laceration | 1 | ||||
| retroperitoneum haematoma | 1 | ||||
| jejunum–ileum laceration | 2 | ||||
| kidney laceration | 1 | ||||
| liver laceration | 1 | ||||
| spine (2) | |||||
| cord laceration | 1 | ||||
| cord contusion | 1 | ||||
| head (24) | |||||
| blunt (4) | |||||
| base (basilar) fracture | 2 | ||||
| cerebrum haematoma | 1 | ||||
| vault fracture | 1 | ||||
| penetrating (20) | |||||
| vault fracture complex open | 7 | ||||
| penetrating injury to skull >2 cm | 6 | ||||
| cerebrum haematoma | 4 | ||||
| cerebrum contusion | 1 | ||||
| brain stem injury with haemorrhage | 1 | ||||
| base (basilar) fracture | 1 | ||||
| total | 75 | total | 75 | ||
aTotal number of life-saving interventions does not equal number of cases as some individuals received more than one.