The burden of firearm injuries at two district level emergency centres in Cape Town, South Africa: a descriptive analysis

Introduction Firearm injuries account for an increasingly significant portion of violence related trauma experienced in South Africa. The related burden on district level emergency care, surgical and inpatient services is poorly described. This research aims to provide epidemiological and health service data on patients sustaining firearm injuries presenting at Mitchells Plain Hospital and Heideveld Emergency Centre. The research also assesses the association of the Triage Early Warning Score with anatomical location of injury, the need for surgical intervention and mortality. A geographical analysis of incident location with respect to home address has also been undertaken. Methods All patients who presented to these emergency centres with a firearm injury over a 12-month period (1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2019) were eligible for inclusion in a retrospective chart review. Results Seven-hundred-and-seventy-six firearm injuries were analysed with those injured having a mean age of 27 years and 91% of those injured being male. Sixty-seven percent of patients self-presented and there were 18 deaths in the emergency centre and a further 23 as an inpatient. The Triage Early Warning Score and Shock Index both showed statistical significance when comparing those not surviving to hospital discharge against those that did survive (p