Infection during initial hospitalization not associated with mortality among patients surviving one or more nights in hospital
THURSDAY, Sept. 3, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Bacterial infection during initial hospitalization for firearm injury occurred in about 5 percent of patients, according to a study published online Aug. 3 in JAMA Network Open.
Jerry Yang, from the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing in Bethesda, and colleagues conducted a cohort study of 24,024 adults with firearm injuries between January 2019 and May 2021 to explore risk factors for bacterial infection after firearm injury.
Overall, 5,798 patients (24.1 percent) underwent surgical procedures and 2,007 patients (8.4 percent) died. The researchers found that bacterial infection developed in 1,236 patients (5.1 percent): 1,034 and 306 (4.3 and 1.3 percent) were early infections and late infections, respectively. Mortality occurred in 8.3 and 8.4 percent of patients with and without bacterial infection, respectively. Among patients who survived at least one night in the hospital, surgical procedures of the head, neck, and/or spine and the lower abdomen were clinical factors associated with an increased risk for early infection (odds ratios, 5.18 and 1.77, respectively); a lower risk for early infection was seen in association with handgun injury and surgical procedures for extremity injuries (odds ratios, 0.58 and 0.58, respectively). Liver surgical procedures and head, neck, and/or spine procedures were clinical factors associated with an increased risk for late infection (odds ratios, 3.83 and 2.30, respectively). Infection during the initial hospitalization was not associated with mortality among patients who survived at least one night in the hospital.
“By identifying the patients most likely to develop these complications, we hope this work contributes to more informed clinical decision-making and ultimately better outcomes for patients,” senior author Jonathan D. Baghdadi, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a statement.
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