An Evaluation of Firearm Injuries in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Introduction Firearm injuries are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Our study aims to evaluate the injury patterns, results of imaging studies, treatment methods, outcomes, and mortality rates of patients who were admitted to the emergency department with firearm injuries. Methods Our study was designed as a retrospective descriptive study. To this end, adult patients who were admitted to our hospital with gunshot wounds between January 1, 2017, and July 31, 2021, were screened. The files of 527 patients who were admitted with gunshot wounds were analyzed. A total of 30 patients were excluded from the study due to missing data. Statistical analyses were performed using the data of a total of 497 patients. Independent variables of the study included sex, age, systolic blood pressure (SBD), diastolic blood pressure (DBD), pulse, respiratory rate, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, range of shot, injury site, X-ray, cranial CT, thorax CT, abdominal CT, and extremity CT angiography findings, and the need for treatment and referral. Mortality was the dependent variable of the study. A logistic regression model was created to predict factors affecting the survival of the patients who were admitted to the emergency department with gunshot wounds and to identify the independent variables affecting survival. A p-value of <0.05 was considered sufficient for significance. Results The majority of patients who were admitted to the emergency department due to gunshot wounds were male and the median age of the patients was 32 years (18-70 years). The comparison of the descriptive characteristics with respect to survival revealed that the systolic and diastolic blood pressures and GCS scores of the deceased patients were significantly lower than those of the survivors. The rate of shooting at short range was significantly higher in the deceased patients when compared to that of the survivors. In addition, the rate of the need for surgical intervention and the incidence of pneumocephaly in cranial CT were higher in the deceased patients than in the survivors. Significantly higher rates of deceased patients required referral to neurosurgery and thoracic surgery clinics than survivors. The patients who were referred to the thoracic surgery clinic had an increased death rate by 29-fold and the patients who were referred to the thoracic surgery clinic had an increased death rate by about nine-fold. On the other hand, the probability of death was reduced by about half when the GCS scores of the patients were higher. Discussion We evaluated GCS in our patient group and determined a significantly lower score in the patients who did not survive, which agrees with the findings of other studies. Patients with higher SBD and DBD showed a higher probability of survival, which agrees with the results in other studies. Most patients were shot from their extremities and none had died while the death rate was significantly higher in the patients who suf...