The Problem of Nutrition in the Postoperative Care of Abdominal Wounds of Warfare

Abstract

RAPID evacuation, the improved treatment of shock and skilled surgery available within a few miles of the front have made it possible to operate on many patients with abdominal wounds of an extent and gravity seldom seen in those treated in World War I. Despite this fact, the immediate postoperative mortality of 5O per cent, generally accepted as representative of the last war,¹ has been considerably reduced.^{2 , 3} Most reports of experiences in this field have dealt largely with the operative and immediate postoperative periods. The complex problems in nutrition and sepsis presented by some of these patients on arrival at . . .