Principles of treatment of gunshot wounds in peace terms.

Abstract

Introduction: This work provides an overview of the incidence of gunshot wounds during peace conditions in a civilian population and aims to assess the principles of their treatment.
Method: We evaluated a total of 104 patients with gunshot wounds with an average age of 38.7 years (range 18−71). 84 men (80.8%) and 20 women (19.2%) were involved. The head was affected 7 times (6.7%). Out of those, penetrating injury occurred only once (1.0%). The throat was hit three times (2.9%). The chest was injured 15 times (14.4%), penetrating injury at this site was observed in 10 cases (9.6%). In five cases the lungs were affected and the heart once. Gastric injury occurred 13 times, penetration into the peritoneal cavity occurred seven times (6.7%). The intestine was injured five times, the liver three times and the gall-bladder once. Limb injury was present in 66 (63.5%) cases and in 19 of those, the injury was associated with a fracture. In 50 cases (48.1%), the patient was attacked by another person. 45 patients (43.3%) injured themselves unintentionally, five patients (4.8%) were injured in a suicidal attempt and four (3.8%) were accidentally shot by someone else. The weapons used were: pistol in 57 (54.8%) cases, air rifle in 20 cases (19.2%), a rifle in 10 cases (9.6%), two patients (1.9%) were injured with a detonator and one (1.0%) with an assault rifle. In 14 cases (13.5%), the type of firearm used was not established.
Results: Surgical treatment was indicated in all cases. The first step was always a thorough wound irrigation. Single surgical treatment was performed in 48 cases (46.2%) while the other 56 patients (53.8%) required multiple surgeries. Specialized surgical procedures were performed in a total of 30 cases: seven laparotomies, five thoracotomies, five fracture stabilizations using external fixator, four amputations of limbs, two intramedullary osteosyntheses, two stabilizations with the use of Kirchner wires, two vascular surgeries, one craniotomy and one suture of a peripheral nerve. Complications of healing were not frequent: wound infection was observed in two cases (1.9%), wound dehiscence in one case (1.0%), osteomyelitis in two cases (1.9%), nonunion of the fracture (1.0 %) occurred once and in one case (1.0%), pulmonary embolism was diagnosed which was not fatal.
Conclusion: Consistent debridement, fasciotomy, and complete drainage of the wound are only indicated in deep gunshot wounds. A surgical revision of the abdominal cavity is indicated for all penetrating abdominal gunshot injuries. The watch-and-wait approach with surgical wound management and hospitalization is only allowed for unambiguously non-penetrating abdominal injuries. Complications of gunshot wound healing in civilian settings are not common and are most often infectious.