CE570 CE710
IN THE OR
continuing education
Knife and Gun Injuries enetrating trauma involves wounding instruments that penetrate the skin and directly injure body tissue. Although there are numerous examples of penetrating trauma — such as a child falling on a pencil that penetrates the globe of the eye or a piece of shrapnel from an explosive device tearing through a limb — two obvious causes of penetrating trauma are firearm wounds and stabbings. This module discusses the mechanism of injury involved in firearm injuries and stab wounds. The healthcare providers should have a baseline understanding of the mechanisms of injury surrounding this form of trauma.
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The goal of this educational program is to provide nurses in acute care settings with an introduction to the biomechanical concepts of firearm and stabbing injuries and an explanation of how those concepts relate to the care of the patient with penetrating trauma.
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OR TODAY | July 2022
Types of Trauma Trauma is divided into two main categories: blunt and penetrating. Blunt trauma is caused by blunt forces external to the body. These blunt forces transmit energy through body tissues. Examples include motor vehicle collisions, falls, and sporting injuries. In contrast, penetrating trauma is caused by wounding instruments that penetrate the skin and directly injure body tissue. Penetrating trauma can take many forms and may be accidental or intentional. It may be the result of a mishap with an everyday object or a violent act with a weapon. Firearms and knives, or other sharp objects, can cause very serious penetrating injuries. Gun violence is considered by many experts to be a public health crisis, and injury and death related to firearms continues to rise. Deaths attributed to guns increased 20% worldwide between 1990 and 2016 with more than half of those deaths occurring in the U.S. (DynaMed, 2018). One study found that every seven minutes someone is brought to a hospital in the U.S. for a gun-related injury (DiMaggio et al., 2017). This represents a 4% total increase and
Relias LLC guarantees this educational program free from bias. The planners and authors have declared no relevant conflicts of interest that relate to this educational activity. See Page 34 to learn how to earn CE credit for this module.
Goal and Objectives After taking this course, you should be able to: • Calculate the kinetic energy of a moving mass. • List at least three factors that affect the severity of firearm injuries. • Describe common injuries associated with stab wounds to the trunk. • Discuss nursing care for penetrating trauma wounds.
30% increase among children less than 5 years of age.
Overview Injuries related to firearms are the second-leading cause of traumatic death in the U.S., second only to motor vehicle crashes (Tasigiorgos et al., 2015). Even more patients survive
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