BATTLEFIELD, BULLETS AND BUGS: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE IN GUNSHOTS

Battlefield gunshot wounds inflict severe damage by impact and penetration causing polytrauma and hemorrhage, resulting in high morbidity and mortality than explosive injuries. Two cases of ballistic polytrauma due to multiple gunshot wounds resulting in multiple injuries underwent battlefield care, strategic evacuation, and surgical and critical care interventions through various echelons of healthcare, although succumbed to ensuing complications for which they were investigated post-mortem. The vicious circle in gunshots from battlefield to tertiary care comprises ballistic polytrauma, hemodynamic compromise, delayed evacuation, large soft tissue defects, critical care, and secondary infections. Post-mortem autopsy and virtopsy can discern terminal ballistics and complications thereof for better management of gunshot polytrauma in future.