Introduction:

A penetrating trauma can damage a variety of organs. Since the liver is an inelastic solid organ, it does not have the necessary stretch tolerance to cope with a gunshot wound (GSW).

Methods:

This was a retrospective, observational, and descriptive study of 53 clinical records of patients admitted to the Department of Surgery for liver trauma (LT) by a GSW.

Results:

Of the total clinical records analyzed, 89% of the patients presented a lesion associated with LT. The most common associated organic lesion was thoracic, specifically lung injury, in 58%. The most important predictor of mortality was a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), which increased the risk about 21 times.

Conclusion:

A stay in the ICU, followed by the presence of fractures, was the most important predictor of mortality. New prognostic measures are needed to counteract the variables that the increase in GSWs has created, in addition to decreasing the waiting time from the traumatic event to relevant treatment.