ABSTRACT
This is a retrospective study of 135 cases of non fatal firearm injury in various age and sex, who attended the Emergency Department at King Hussein Medical Center, in two years duration 1/1/2002 - 31/12/2003. Data are presented with reference to age, sex, anatomical location of injury, duration of hospitalization and long-term complication. The age range of all firearm injuries in the study period was 2 to 62 years with a median age is 32.2 years. The majority were in the groups aged 10-19 years [47%] and aged 20-29 years [37%], 97 [72%] were male and 38 [28%] were female [male: female ratio is 2.5:1]. The length of stay in Hospital ranged from one day to 98 days, the mean stay was 13 days. Lower extremities were the most common site of injury [62.46%], followed by the abdominal injury accounting for 23 [17.5%]. Chest injury and thoraco-abdomen injuries were 33 [24.5%]. Resection of one organ or more was done for 15 patients [11%], lower limb weakness was seen in 9 cases [6.6%], pneumonectomy done just for one patient out of 37 patients having thoracic injury and only one patient out of 135 cases of non fatal injury to head and neck complicated by paraplegia. The economic costs of acute and long-term care of debilitating injuries and their complications and the lost productivity are serious and important problems for these non-fatal and "preventable in injuries" especially in young age group