Extremity handgun injuries in children and adolescents

The majority of gunshot wounds in the urban pediatric population are inflic ted by handguns. This study reviewed the trauma center management of 66 han dgun injuries to the upper and lower extremities among 51 children who were aged less than or equal to 16 years. As expected, gunshot wounds were more frequent in adolescent males and were usually intentional. About half of t he children had police records prior to the gunshot wounds. Fifty-two perce nt of the extremity handgun injuries resulted in fractures, most commonly t o the tibia or forearm. Seventy-nine orthopedic procedures were recorded wi th an average hospital stay of 4.3 days. Permanent morbidity was undoubtedl y underestimated due to poor long-term follow-up.