Report on injuries sustained by patients treated at the Birmingham General Hospital following the recent bomb explosions.

As a result of recent bomb explosions a total of 82 patients were treated at the Birmingham General Hospital, 61 with minor injuries. Bomb injuries may be divided into three main groups due to the blast effect (such as blast lung and ruptured tympanic membranes), the flash (such as burns to the exposed part of the body), and shrapnel (which may cause a wide variety of injuries). The amount of warning of such explosions is usually minimal, and so the prepared accident schemes of most hospitals are inappropriate. If the disaster occurs outside normal working hours much responsibility initially falls on the resident staff. This report gives some idea of the type of injuries they are likely to see.