Firearm-Related Fractures: Epidemiology and Infection Rate.

 To investigate the incidence of infection in patients with gunshot-related fractures, and to correlate this finding with the occurrence of surgical debridement in the emergency room.  A retrospective, observational, descriptive study that included all cases of fractures caused by firearms between January 2010 and December 2014; 245 fractures in 223 patients were included.  There was surgical-site infection in 8.5% of the fractures, and the mean number of debridements required to control the infectious process was of 1.273 ± 0.608. A correlation was identified between the surgical treatment chosen and the affected body segment (  < 0.001). The surgical treatment in the emergency room had a correlation with the occurrence of infection (  < 0.001; Chi-squared test).  Patients with gunshot injuries treated non-operatively presented less severe and stable lesions; thus, the incidence of complications in this group was found to be lower. On the other hand, those patients with complex lesions underwent debridement and external fixation. Therefore, a greater number of infectious complications in patients submitted to external fixation was found, as expected.