Emergency treatment of craniocerebral firearm wounds

OBJECTIVE: To improve the outcome of treatment in patients with craniocerebral firearm wound. METHODS: Prospectively and retrospectively reviewed a series of 93 patients presented to the Xi-Jing Hospital of Fourth Military Medical University with a diagnosis of craniocerebral firearm wound during a period of 27 years from July 1970 to July 1997. All the patients had acute craniocerebral firearm wound. Of these, it consisted of 81 males (87.1%) and 12 females (12.9%) ranging from 3 months to 58 years in age (median 24.6 years). The lesion included 16 tangential wounds, 58 tubular wounds and 19 through-and-through wounds. The cases were urgent and in serious and unstable condition. All the patients underwent surgical intervention and aggressive perioperative management in the neurosurgical intensive care, including resuscitative protocols. RESULTS: After emergency treatment and operation, 9 cases died (9.7%). Follow-up studies at three months postoperative showed that 56 cases (66.7%) had made good recovery. Rates of moderate disability, severe disability or vegetative state in this series were 19.0%, 10.7% and 3.6%, respectively. Long term follow-up studies (median 5.5 years) found that 42 (50.0%) were capable of resuming their occupation. CONCLUSIONS: Craniocerebral firearm wounds are often severe, needing urgent treatment for the patients. Timely, proper and thorough initial debridement are crucial for avoiding rapid neurological deterioration.