Kong, V;
Weale, R;
Blodgett, J;
Bruce, J;
Laing, G;
Clarke, D;
(2018)
Spectrum of injuries resulting from gunshot wounds in car hijacking: a South African experience.
Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open
, 3
(1)
, Article e000260. 10.1136/tsaco-2018-000260.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Car hijacking, known as “carjacking”, is a form of aggravated robbery of a vehicle from the driver frequently involving firearm and is common in South Africa. There is, however, little literature on the spectrum of injuries sustained by victims of car hijacking. The study aimed to describe the spectrum of gunshot wound-related (GSW) injuries and review our experience of management of victims of car hijacking in our trauma center based in South Africa. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted during an 8-year period from January 2010 to January 2018 on all patients who presented with any form of GSW after a car hijacking incident. RESULTS: During the 8-year study period, a total of 101 patients were identified. Seventy-four percent were male (75 of 101) and the mean age was 34 years. The mean time from injury to arrival at our trauma center was 7 hours (rural district: 10 hours, urban district: 4 hours; p<0.001). Seventy-five percent (76 of 101) of all patients sustained GSWs to multiple body regions, whereas the remaining 25% (25 of 101) were confined to a single body region. The most common region involved was the chest (48 cases), followed by the abdomen (46 cases) and neck (34 cases). Sixty-three of the 101 (62%) patients required one or more operative interventions. The most common procedure was laparotomy (28 cases), followed by vascular (20 cases) and neck (14) exploration. Eighteen percent (18 of 101) of all patients required intensive care unit admission. The mean length of hospital stay was 7 days. The overall morbidity was 13% (16 of 101) and the overall mortality was 18% (18 of 101). DISCUSSION: The spectrum of injuries from GSW related to car hijacking commonly involves close range GSWs to multiple body regions. Torso trauma is common and a substantial proportion of victims require major operative interventions. The mortality from these injuries is significant. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Level III.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Spectrum of injuries resulting from gunshot wounds in car hijacking: a South African experience. |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/tsaco-2018-000260 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tsaco-2018-000260 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Car hijacking, Gunshot wound, Injury spectrum |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci > Department of Targeted Intervention |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10127210 |
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