OBJECTIVE: To determine long-term medical, social, and psychological outcome of survivors of a multiple-shooting mass casualty disaster. DESIGN: A case-study review was performed 42 months after injury involving chart reviews and patient interviews. PARTICIPANTS: Survivors of a multiple shooting. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The need for primary operative treatment, subsequent operations, and medical treatment related to the injuries, current work status, and psychological impact of injury was determined. RESULTS: Thirteen patients required operation initially; 12 are long-term survivors. Eight have returned to work. Most of the victims reported experiencing psychological and emotional problems. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a well-functioning trauma system that maximized survival from devastating injury, considerable long-term morbidity and disability persists. Efforts at prevention of mass casualties seem to be the only potential solution.
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Richardson et al. (1996) studied this question.