Background

Armed robbery attacks are the commonest cause of civilian gunshot injuries (GSI) in published data in Nigeria. This study was done to determine the pattern and outcome of the armed robbery-related gunshot injuries.

Methods

A prospective observational study was done over a 30-months period from January 2018 to June 2020 at a teaching hospital in southwest Nigeria. The study recorded details on patient demographics, firearm types, gunshot wound characteristics, attack timing and location, pre-attack events, and outcome status according to predefined criteria. Continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation, while categorical variables were expressed as percentages. Association between categorical variables was assessed using Chi square at p <.05 level of significance.

Results

Seventy-nine patients presented with gunshot injuries over the study period, 34(43%) were because of armed robbery attack. The mean age was 35.2 years ±8.8SD with age group 25-44 years being the most commonly affected and male to female ratio of 16:1.The extremities was most injured region in 38.2% and 67.6% of the attacked occurred at night with 20.6% mortality rate. Outcome of the patient and type of weapons used were significantly associated with p =.04.

Conclusion

Armed robbery-related GSI affects predominantly young adults. The extremities were most commonly injured, and weapons of injury, were predominantly low velocity, with a high mortality when fired at close range. There is an increasing need to reduce the prevalence through youth engagement and effective night policing.