This article provides an overview of the mechanism of ballistic injuries. It also explores the management of patients with gunshot wounds in the emergency department.

Wai-Ping Linda Fan is a Foundation Year 2 student, Department of Accident and Emergency, Royal Preston Hospital; Mamun Rashid is Core Surgical Trainee, Department of ENT Surgery, Tameside General Hospital, Manchester; Stuart Enoch is Speciality Registrar, Burns and Plastic Surgery, University Hospitals of South and Central Manchester Under normal circumstances, wounds are expected to heal withi...

The use of prophylactic antibiotics in the initial treatment of noninfected dog bite wounds is controversial. All patients with noninfected dog bite wounds who presented to our emergency department (ED) over a two-year period were considered for entry into a randomized prospective study. Patients were excluded from the study if they had any high-risk criteria for infection: puncture wounds, han...

592 Once the decision to close a wound has been made, the clinician must select the closure technique best suited for the location and configuration of the wound. The most commonly used techniques include use of tape, tissue adhesive, metal staples, and sutures. All traumatic wounds should be cleaned, and wounds containing devitalized tissue should be débrided before closure (see Chapter 34, Pr...

Acute traumatic wounds occur when the body is subjected to a force that exceeds the strength of the skin or underlying tissue (Whiteside and Moorehead, 1993), and can be caused by a variety of mechanisms (Holt, 2000). Healing of acute wounds involves a complex, wellorchestrated series of events, resulting in a healed wound in a timely and orderly manner (Enoch and Leaper, 2005). All acute traum...

introduction: knowledge of emergency medicine residents about the management of patients suspected of having tetanus favoring wounds is very important due to their responsibility for the treatment of such patients. the aim of the present study was to evaluate this knowledge and making sure of the adequacy of instructions they have received in relation to prevention of tetanus.  methods: a relia...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the forms of treatment employed to heart injuries and the main aspects related to their morbidity and mortality. METHODS A retrospective study of 102 patients with cardiac injuries treated in the two emergency rooms in Manaus (Dr. John Lucio Pereira Machado Emergency Hospital and August 28 County Emergency Hospital) from January 1998 to June 2006. RESULTS Of the 102 pa...

PUBM is a non-synthetic, completely resorbable xenograft product with myriad of uses including management burns, acute and chronic wounds, soft tissue reinforcement, hernia repair. The material available in both powder sheet form allowing for excellent coverage irregularly shaped wounds. We present three patients significant loss that underwent implantation utilizing PUBM. Despite challenging l...

BACKGROUND Penetrating cardiac injuries have a rather high mortality and require a rapid diagnosis and emergency surgical intervention. The aim of this study was to present and discuss our experience with penetrating heart wounds. METHODS Sixteen patients with penetrating cardiac injury underwent surgical treatment at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery between 1985-2007. The patients ra...