Which Management for Gunshot Chest Wounds in a War Zone Hospital?

Abstract

Introduction: Gunshot chest wounds are a life-threatening surgical emergency without immediate management. Method: The study period is two years, covering cases admitted from June 2017 to May 2019. The surgical service of the regional hospital center (CHR) of Diffa in Niger is one of the main second-level referral structures where victims of the armed conflict that started in 2014 in the Lake Chad basin are referred and treated. Through this study, we report the preliminary results of the hospital management gunshot chest. Results: Firearm-related chest wounds accounted for 9.22% of firearm injury admissions, interesting especially young man subjects. Penetrating thoracic lesions involved 14 patients, 12 of whom had high and medium-abundant effusion treated by thoracic drainage. Two patients had a pulmonary contusion and a fatal tamponade pattern respectively. Conclusion: Emergency chest drainage is a first-line saving procedure in the treatment of thoracic wounds with firearms in armed conflict.