Background: The initial treatment of patients with gun shot trauma, before reaching proper care, can be effective in patient’s morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the trauma system in the pre-hospital approaches for patients with bullet trauma.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the bullet trauma patients presenting in four major hospitals in Mashhad between 2010 and 2011 were studied.
Results: A total of 66 patients admitted to our hospitals (51 with directly admission and 15 were referred from other centers). The most common anatomic site of injury was extremities (60.6%) and the highest mortality rate was seen in patients with more than one site injury (e.g. chest and abdomen). The length of stay in hospital had no significant difference in these groups (P = 0.188). Also, the length of stay in hospital was similar between patients who were transferred with ambulance and others who were transferred with other vehicles (P = 0.553).
Conclusion: Similarity in the length of stay in hospital between emergency ambulance and other vehicles transmitted patients reflects the need for more strengthening the manpower and equipments in the health care in emergency services.