Trauma care of Gazan civilians: Key lessons from the French military humanitarian mission.

BACKGROUND

Following the attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel launched a high-intensity air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. In late November 2023, France led a humanitarian mission by deploying a Mistral-class landing helicopter dock with enhanced medical-surgical capabilities, positioned in Egypt near Rafah. This study aimed to describe the challenges of a humanitarian trauma mission in a modern conflict by analyzing the activity aboard the French landing helicopter dock, named DIXMUDE.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included all civilian patients admitted to the DIXMUDE for war-related physical trauma.

RESULTS

During the mission, 124 civilian patients were admitted to the DIXMUDE, 94 of whom sustained war-related physical injuries. Pediatric patients (younger than 15 years) represented 42% of the casualties (40 of 94 patients). Explosions were the primary cause of injury (95%). The median Injury Severity Score was 10, with a predominance of severe limb injuries. Nearly 80% of the victims had undergone damage-control surgery in Gaza before admission, and 50% required surgical reassessment on the DIXMUDE. Moreover, 171 war trauma procedures were performed, primarily orthopedic surgeries (54%). General anesthesia was used in the majority of cases (80%), with combined general and regional anesthesia in 19%. Pediatric surgical cases constituted 40%, with 20% of cases involving children younger than 10 years. Key challenges in trauma care included managing severe pain (37 of 94 patients [39%]), wound infections (20 of 94 patients [21%]) often associated with antimicrobial resistance (65%), and blood management requiring transfusions (13 of 94 patients [14%]).

CONCLUSION

The challenges of humanitarian war trauma missions require up-to-date skills in pediatrics, infectious diseases, and rehabilitation, including acute pain management and blood management.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutics/Care Management; Level IV.