Introduction:

Operation ‘Atalanta’ was approved by the Council of the European Union in December 2008 with the main objective of protecting from the attacks of the pirates the maritim traffic of the occidental Indian ocean. The aim of this study is to analyse the medical care provided in the Spanish Role 1 deployed medical treatment facility during Operation ‘Atalanta’ in Yibuti.

Material and methods:

A cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study was conducted between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2018. The study population compromised all personnel treated at the Spanish Role 1 medical treatment facility in Yibuti.

Results:

During the study period, a total of 1689 consultations included in the study were performed, 1390 of wich were first consultation. The predominant type of medical care was categorised as ‘preventive medicine’ (n = 274; 16.22%), followed by ‘traumatology’ (n = 263; 15.57%), ‘gastroenterology’ (n = 201; 11.9%), ‘dermatology’ (n = 189; 11.19%) and ‘infectious diseases’ (n = 171; 10.12%). Nineteen patients (1.19%) required care in the upper medical echelon of care. ‘Odontology’ was the main reason for evacuation to the next medical echelon. Two patients were repatriated to the national territory for medical reasons. There were no deaths during the period of study.

Conclusions:

The results of our study reinforce those found in similar recent international missions in which the Spanish Armed Forces and other allied armies have deployed a Role 1 medical treatment facility. Relationships with the superior medical echelon and telemedicine are important to help military physicians deployed on Role 1 medical facilities.