Abstract
We present the case of a patient who sustained a penetrating injury to the chest caused by an attenuated energy rubber bullet and review the literature on thoracic injuries caused by plastic and rubber "less-lethal" munitions. The patient of this report underwent a right thoracotomy to extract the projectile as well as a wedge resection of the injured lung parenchyma. This case demonstrates that even supposedly safe riot control munition fired at close range, at the torso, can provoke serious injury. Therefore a thorough investigation and close clinical supervision are justified.
Highlights
Crowd control is ideally enforced by a trained police force using "less-lethal" tactics and weapons
We report a rare case of a penetrating injury to the chest caused by an attenuated energy projectile
A 24-year-old male was shot in the right hemithorax by an attenuated energy projectile (AEP), fired from a 12-gauge shotgun at close range
Summary
Crowd control is ideally enforced by a trained police force using "less-lethal" tactics and weapons. Examples include the plastic baton rounds and the more recent attenuated energy projectile These rounds represent safer options than the original rubber bullets and are currently used by many different police forces. A 24-year-old male was shot in the right hemithorax by an attenuated energy projectile (AEP), fired from a 12-gauge shotgun at close range (less than 3 m). He arrived to our Trauma Center approximately 36 hours after the injury. Due to septic complications and the size of the foreign body, the patient underwent a right thoracotomy which revealed a 19 g (6.5 × 2.5 cm) projectile within the middle lobe, which was surrounded by an intra-parenchymal hematoma (Figure 3). The patient had an uneventful hospital stay and was discharged home 5 days later
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
