Clinical Assessment of Injuries Inflicted with the Use of Firearms of Limited Destruction to Residents of the Arctic Zone of the Arkhangelsk Region, 2006-2022

Summary. The purpose of the study is to provide a clinical description of injuries inflicted with the use of firearms of limited destruction (LDL) to residents of the Arctic zone of the Arkhangelsk region (Arctic zone).

Materials and methods of research. A retrospective study was carried out using the type of documentary observation on the general population of victims of the use of OOOP in the Arctic zone in 2006–2022. Primary data collection was carried out by copying information from medical records. Research materials – 125 medical records of patients who received medical care in a day hospital (f. 003/u), issued for victims of POOP, as well as 123 Forensic Medical Examination Protocols compiled at the State Budgetary Institution of the Arkhangelsk Region “Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination”.

The following variables were used for statistical analysis: gender, age, date of injury, circumstances of injury, presence of alcohol or drug intoxication, date of seeking medical help, method of delivery to a medical organization (HMO), severity of condition at the time of admission, location of injury, depth of the wound in relation to the body cavities, assessment of the severity of the wound on the VPH-P (OR) scale. Quantitative variables are presented as medians, qualitative variables as percentages.

Research results and their analysis. Analysis of the research results showed:

– injuries from OOOP are an urgent medical and social problem in the Arctic zone of the Arkhangelsk region. Social predictors of injury as a result of the use of OOOP are: male gender (94.8%); young age – 20–39 years (38.8%); drinking alcohol (32.3%);

– every third victim (37.9%) from the use of OOOP experienced multiple or combined damage to one or more anatomical areas of the body;

– in the majority of cases (82.6%) wounds from the POOP are classified according to VPH-P (OR) as mild; the proportion of severe and extremely severe injuries is insignificant (8.0%).