Was Civil War surgery effective?. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baker, Matthew J.
• Is Part Of: Historical methods. Volume 51:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 49
• Page End: 61
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: Augmented inverse probability weighted estimator -- Civil War -- doubly robust estimator -- model selection -- treatment effects; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Onderzoeksmethoden; Electronic journals; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 300.5
• DOI: 10.1080/01615440.2017.1408440
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0161-5440

Abstract

ABSTRACT: During the U.S. Civil War surgeons performed a vast number of surgeries. Whether surgery increased wounded soldiers' chances of survival has been debated ever since. I analyze a unique observational data set gathered by Dr. Edmund Andrews, a surgeon with the 1st Illinois Light Artillery. I use Dr. Andrews's data, model selection tools, and doubly robust estimation methods to estimate treatment effects from surgery. I find that surgery increased wounded soldiers' chances of survival by 0.09–0.16, depending on the specific model of surgical procedure.