Incidence of deaths due to gunshot injuries at District Barkhan,Balochistan

Objective: to determine the incidence of deaths due to gunshot injuries in the district barkhan,balochistan. study design: a retrospective study. place and duration: district head quarter hospital barkhan,balouchistan from january 2007 to december 2010 method: case records of deaths were selected on the basis of history of fire arm injury,cloth examination and general physical examination of the dead body. the injuries were numbered,chartered and their size,shape and exact site of gunshot injury and its diagnostic characteristic were noted. results: the total number of patients was 268; 264 (98.51%) males and 4 (1.49%) females. the most common age group of victims was 31 to 40 years (166,61.94%). most common time for gunshot crimes was at morning (114,42.54%). among all the cases 97.1% were due to old hostility,homicidal 2.24% were accidental and only 0.75% was suicidal. the most common site of bullets' entry was chest and abdomen 56%. automatic guns (ak47) were most frequently used i.e. in 254 (95%) cases. conclusion: males of young age are very frequently assaulted by automatic weapons,most of the time due to long-term hostility. chest and abdomen most frequently sustained bullets as compared to other parts of the body.