Sherif Dabash, Chris Gerzina, Joshua E. Simson, Ahmed Elabd, Amr A. Abdelgawad, Miguel Pirela-Cruz, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX, the Unites States. Confict-of-interest statement: The author(s) declare(s) that there is no confict of interest regarding the publication of this paper. Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Com- mons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non- commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non- commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Correspondence to: Amr Abdelgawad, MD, Associate Profes- sor, Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilita- tion, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, 4801 Alberta Avenue, El Paso, Texas 79905, the Unites States. Email: amr.abdelgawad@ttuhsc.edu Telephone: +1-915-215-5406 Fax: +1-915-545-6704 Received: March 27, 2018 Revised: April 9, 2018 Accepted: April 11 2018 Published online: April 28, 2018 ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Gunshot wounds to the upper extremity in pediatric patients are an uncommon injury, but their impact on the patient can be severe. They can be accompanied by nerve damage, bone fracture, or tendon rupture. The most common cause of these pediatric gun injuries is unintentional frearm discharge. The most common type of firearm involved overall is a powdered weapon; however, non-powder weapons are a significant contributor to pediatric frearm injury. The purpose of this study is to describe the characteristics and treatment outcomes of pediatric GSW in a level one trauma center on the US-Mexican border. METHODS: Retrospective case series. RESULTS: Ten patients met our inclusion criteria for the study. The most frequent mechanism of injury was due to violence (60%), and the most frequent type of firearm involved was a powdered weapon (80%). Males were more affected than females (70%). Six patients experienced bone fracture, three patients experienced nerve damage, and one patient experienced tendon damage. No patients had lasting physical deficits as the result of their injury. CONCLUSION: Most of the pediatric GSW (60%) were due to violence. However, a significant percentage was due to accidental injury (40%). Addressing powder and non-powder weapon safety is warranted to reduce frearm injury in the pediatric population. Good outcomes can be expected in most pediatric GSW. Key words: Pediatric gunshot wound; Violence; Trauma; Firearms; Upper extremity © 2018 The Author(s). Published by ACT Publishing Group Ltd. All rights reserved. Dabash S, Gerzina C, Simson JE, Elabd A, Abdelgawad AA, Pierla- Cruz MA. Pediatric Gunshot Wounds of the Upper Extremity. International Journal of Orthopaedics 2018; 5(2): 910-915 Available from: URL: http://www.ghrnet.org/index.php/ijo/article/view/2302 INTRODUCTION Firearm injuries are a possible cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients [1] . These injuries can take an emotional and fnancial toll on the affected children and their families and may involve joints, bones, neurovascular structures, and the soft tissues encompassing these structures [2] . In 2009, injury-related deaths of adolescents 15 through 19 years of age had a frearm-related rate of 28.8%. These deaths included injuries resulting from homicide, suicide, and unintentional injury [3] . In 2015, the mortality rate of frearm injury in patients under 18 years old was 9.1% [4] . These injuries can be caused by projectiles from conventional powder propelled weapons as well as from non-powder weapons (e.g. BBs, pellets, airsoft ammunition, CASE REPORT Pediatric Gunshot Wounds of the Upper Extremity Sherif Dabash, Chris Gerzina, Joshua E. Simson, Ahmed Elabd, Amr A. Abdelgawad, Miguel Pirela-Cruz 910 Int. J. of Orth. 2018 April 28; 5(2): 910-915 ISSN 2311-5106 (Print), ISSN 2313-1462 (Online) Online Submissions: http: //www.ghrnet.org/index.php/ijo doi: 10.17554/j.issn.2311-5106.2018.05.269 International Journal of Orthopaedics