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Gunshot and stab wounds in France: descriptive study from a national trauma registry

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European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Severe trauma is a major problem worldwide. In France, blunt trauma (BT) is predominant and few studies are available on penetrating trauma (PT). The purpose of this study was to perform a descriptive analysis of severe gunshot (GSW) and stab wounds (SW) in patients who were treated in French trauma centers.

Methods

Retrospective study on prospectively collected data in a national trauma registry. All adult (> 15 years) trauma patients primarily admitted in 1 of the 17 trauma centers members of the Traumabase between January 2015 to December 2018 were included. Data from patients who had a PT were compared with those who had suffered a BT over the same period. Due to the known differences between GSW and SW, sub-group analyses on data from GSW, SW and BT were also performed.

Results

8128 patients were included. Twelve percent of the study group had a PT. The main mechanism of PT was SW (68.1%). Five hundred and eighty patients with PT (59.4%) required surgery within the first 24 h. Severe hemorrhage was more frequent in penetrating traumas (11.2% vs. 7.8% p < 0.001). Hospital mortality following PT was 8.9% vs 11% for blunt trauma (p = 0.047). Among PT the mortality after GSW was ten times higher than after SW (23.8% vs 2%).

Conclusion

This work is the largest study to date that has specifically focused on GSW and SW in France, and will help improving knowledge in managing such patients in our country.

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Acknowledgements

French military health service Schools, Lyon-Bron, France, Val-de-Grâce Military Health Academy, Paris, France: Sylvain Ausset. Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit. Sainte Anne Military Teaching Hospital, Toulon, France: Eric Meaudre-Desgouttes. Université de Paris, Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, AP-HP, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 25, rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France: Anne Godier. Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, AP-HP, Bicêtre Hospital, Paris, France: Anatole Harrois. Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, AP-HP.Nord, Beaujon Hospital, DMU PARABOL, University of Paris, Clichy, France: Tobias Gauss. Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France: Julien Pottecher. Université de Paris, Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, AP-HP, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 25, rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France: Romain Pirrachio. Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, Hôpital Louis Pasteur de Colmar, Colmar, France: Elisabeth Gaertner. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse, France: Thomas Geeraerts.

Funding

Traumabase registry is partly funded by the Regional Health Agency of Ile de France, France. Arthur James received fees from LFB (Laborzatoire Français du fractionnementet des Biotechnologies) for an educational project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit, Percy Military Teaching Hospital, Clamart, France

    Chloé Descamps, Nathalie de Garambé & Mathieu Boutonnet

  2. Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Université de Paris, AP-HP, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 25, rue Leblanc, 75015, Paris, France

    Sophie Hamada & Arthur Neuschwander

  3. CESP, INSERM, Univ. Paris-Sud, UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Maison de Solenn, 97, boulevard de Port-Royal, 75014, Paris, France

    Sophie Hamada

  4. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Caen University Hospital, and Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, Caen, France

    Jean-Luc Hanouz

  5. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse, France

    Fanny Vardon-Bounes

  6. Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire APHP-Sorbonne Université, Site Pitié-Salpêtrière, Département d’Anesthésie Réanimation, 75013, Paris, France

    Arthur James

  7. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, 59000, Lille, France

    Delphine Garrigue

  8. Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, DMU PARABOL, AP-HP.Nord, Beaujon Hospital, University of Paris, Clichy, France

    Paer Abback

  9. Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit, Sainte Anne Military Teaching Hospital, Toulon, France

    Mickaël Cardinale

  10. Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, AP-HP, Bicêtre Hospital, Paris, France

    Guillaume Dubreuil

  11. Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit. Hôpital Nord, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France

    Jeanne Chatelon

  12. Department of Anesthesia and Surgical Intensive Care, Henri Mondor University Hospital of Paris, Paris-Est Créteil University, 51, Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, 94000, Créteil, France

    Fabrice Cook

  13. French Military Health Service Schools, Lyon-Bron, France

    Sylvain Ausset

  14. Val-de-Grâce Military Health Academy, Paris, France

    Mathieu Boutonnet

Authors
  1. Chloé Descamps
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  2. Sophie Hamada
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  5. Arthur James
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  13. Nathalie de Garambé
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  14. Sylvain Ausset
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  15. Mathieu Boutonnet
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Consortia

Traumabase Group

  • Sylvain Ausset
  • , Eric Meaudre-Desgouttes
  • , Anne Godier
  • , Anatole Harrois
  • , Tobias Gauss
  • , Julien Pottecher
  • , Romain Pirrachio
  • , Elisabeth Gaertner
  •  & Thomas Geeraerts

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mathieu Boutonnet.

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The other authors do not have any conflict of interest related to this manuscript.

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Descamps, C., Hamada, S., Hanouz, JL. et al. Gunshot and stab wounds in France: descriptive study from a national trauma registry. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 48, 3821–3829 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-021-01742-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-021-01742-9

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