Outpatient management of 357 gunshot wounds to the chest

There is, at present, little literature to guide one in the management of a patient with a gunshot wound to the chest with normal vital signs, physical examination, and as a normal chest X-ray. The present study followed up 357 patients as outpatients at 48 hours, then 1 and 3 months. No major complications developed. Minor complications included chronic wound pain, chronic wound swelling, and the uncomfortable sensation of being able to palpate one's own subcutaneous bullet. The wound infection rate was only 1.5% with or without antibiotics, showing that prophylactic antibiotics are probably not warranted if good surgical wound care is practised. We conclude that patients with gunshot wounds to the chest with normal vital signs, physical examinations, and normal X-rays can be reasonably treated as outpatients after 4 hours of observation, at the physician's discretion.