Clinical Outcome of Lower Extremity Firearm Injuries in Adult Civilians: Shotgun versus Pistol Wounds

Background and Aims:The objective of this study was to compare the effects of firearm injury types on disability, length of hospital stay, and functional and clinical outcomes in patients with shotgun or pistol wounds.Factors affecting morbidity in firearm injuries were also investigated. Materials and Methods:In this multicenter study, 124 patients with at least two years of follow-up over a 10-year period were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were categorized into two groups-shotgun injuries and pistol injuries-based on the type of weapon that caused their wounds.The Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) were used to assess outcomes.Results: The mean age of patients with firearm injuries was 36.48 11.25 years, with a followup period of 42.5416.7 months.Comparisons between the groups revealed no statistically significant differences in age, Injury Severity Score (ISS), WOMAC, SF-36, and LEFS scores (p>0.05).However, the length of hospital stay and follow-up duration were significantly longer in patients with shotgun injuries compared to those with pistol injuries (p<0.05). Conclusion:According to the main results of this study, clinical scores were found to be worse and length of stay was longer in shotgun wounds compared to pistol wounds.Neurovascular injury, soft tissue complications, and high injury severity may also negatively affect clinical outcomes.