title: Pattern of bony injuries among civilian gunshot victims at tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Firearm injuries impose a continuous economic burden on society and hospital resources. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of bony injuries among victims of gunshots.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Orthopedics, Dow University of Health Sciences and Civil Hospital Karachi from January 2011 to December 2012. Patients with isolated bony injuries were included while patients with other systemic injuries were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 90 cases and the majority of them were male (84.4%). Mean age was (32.52 ± 10.27) years. Most of the patients (72.2%) belong to the younger age group. A low velocity weapon was used in 61 (67.8%) cases and a high velocity weapon was used in 29 (32.2%) cases. Armed robbery (64.4%) was the cause of conflict in more than half of the cases. Lower limb was involved in 72.2%. Fifty eight (64.4%) patients remained hospitalized for 15-20 days and others for more than 20 days. Internal fixation with intramedullary nailing was done in 35 patients while K-wire was used in 5 patients. Fifty patients were managed with external fixation, either uniplanar or multiplanar ilizarov. Deep wound infection and nonunion were observed more often in high velocity injuries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Armed robbery was the leading cause of gunshot bony injuries in our hospital. Young males were victimized in a majority of cases. High velocity injuries were associated with more complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Dow International Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Sindh 74800, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ghulam Mustafa
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kaim Khani
authors.forename: Syed Mujahid
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Humail
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hafeez
authors.forename: Naveed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D005594:Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D063128:Tertiary Health Care; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology*