title: The injury potential and lethality of stab wounds: a Folsom Prison Study.
abstract: The morbidity and mortality of stab wounds is unknown since much of the data is unobtainable. Folsom Prison, a closed system with respect to population at risk and medical care, represents a unique situation where all stab wounds and subsequent care are accounted for. A retrospective review of stabbing incidents at Folsom Prison identified 751 wounds in 270 prisoners. Overall mortality was 3%. Thirty-five per cent of the victims were hospitalized. The overall chance of serious injury, defined as an assault victim requiring more than cleansing and suturing of his wounds, was 25%. The most common procedures were tube thoracostomy (performed 36 times) and celiotomy (performed 31 times). We believe that this is the first study of its kind involving a closed population to accurately assess the overall morbidity and mortality of stab wounds. The 3% mortality and the 25% requiring a procedure beyond suturing reflects the low injury potential long clinically suspected in stab wounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, Davis.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Walton
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Blaisdell
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Bodai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011330:Prisons; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy