ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: As cities nation-wide combat gun violence, with less than 20% of shots fired reported to police, use of acoustic gunshot sensor (AGS) technology is increasingly common. However, there are no studies to date investigating whether these technologies affect outcomes for victims of gunshot wounds (GSW). We hypothesized that the AGS technology would be associated with decreased prehospital transport time. METHODS: All GSW patients from 2014 to 2016 were collected from our institutional registry and cross-referenced with local police department data regarding times and locations of AGS alerts. Each GSW incident was categorized as related or unrelated to an AGS alert. Admission data, trauma outcomes, and prehospital time were then compared. RESULTS: We analyzed 731 patients. Of these, 192 were AGS-related (26%) and 539 were not (74%). AGS-related patients were more likely to be female (p < 0.01), have a higher injury severity score (ISS) (p < 0.01), and require an operation (p = 0.03). Ventilator days (p < 0.05) and hospital length of stay (p < 0.01) was greater in the AGS cohort. Mortality, however, did not differ between groups (p = 0.5). On multivariable analysis, both total prehospital time and on-scene time were lower in the AGS group (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests reduced transport times, decreased prehospital and emergency medical service on-scene times with AGS technology. Additionally, despite higher ISS and use of more hospital resources, mortality was similar to non-AGS counterparts. The potential of AGS technology to further decrease prehospital times in the urban setting may provide an opportunity to improve outcomes in trauma patients with penetrating injuries.