Hand injuries with mole gun: A hidden danger

BACKGROUND: Mole guns are handmade destructive tools used in the fight against harmful rodents in agricultural areas. Acciden-tal triggering of these tools at the wrong time can result in major hand injuries that impair hand functionality and cause permanent hand disability. This study aims to draw attention to the fact that mole gun injuries cause severe loss of hand functionality and that these tools should be considered within the scope of firearms.
METHODS: Our study is a retrospective, observational cohort study. The demographic characteristics of the patients, the clinical features of the injury, and the surgical methods applied were recorded. The severity of the hand injury was assessed by the Modified Hand Injury Severity Score. The Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire was used to evaluate the upper extremity-re-lated disability of the patient. The patients’ hand grip strength and palmar and lateral pinch strengths, and functional disability scores were compared with healthy controls.
RESULTS: Twenty-two patients with mole gun hand injuries were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 63.0±16.9 (22–86), and all but one were male. Dominant hand injury was found in more than half of the patients (63.6%). More than half of the patients had major hand injuries (59.1%). The functional disability scores of the patients were significantly higher than the controls, and the grip strengths and palmar pinch strengths were significantly lower.
CONCLUSION: Even after years from the injury, our patients had hand disabilities, and their hand strengths were lower than that of the controls. Public awareness should be raised on this issue, and mole guns should be prohibited and considered in the scope of firearms.

Köstebek tabancasýyla el yaralanmalarý: Gizli tehlike

AMAÇ: Köstebek tabancalarý, tarým alanlarýnda zararlý kemirgenlerle mücadelede kullanýlan, el yapýmý ve harabiyete yol açabilen aletlerdir. Bu aletlerin kazara yanlýþ zamanda tetiklenmesi, majör el yaralanmalarýna yol açarak el iþlevselliðinde kalýcý bozukluða neden olabilir. Bu çalýþma, köstebek tabancasý yaralanmalarýnýn ciddi el fonksiyon kayýplarýna yol açtýðýna ve bu aletlerin ateþli silahlar kapsamýnda deðerlendirilmesi gerektiðine dikkat çekmeyi amaçlamaktadýr.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM: Çalýþmamýz geriye dönük, gözlemsel bir kohort çalýþmasýdýr. Çalýþmaya dahil edilen hastalarýn demografik özellikleri, yaralanmanýn klinik özellikleri ve uygulanan cerrahi yöntemler kaydedildi. El yaralanmasýnýn þiddeti, Modifiye El Yaralanmasý Ciddiyet Skoru (MEYCS) ile deðerlendirildi. Hastanýn üst ekstremiteye baðlý fonksiyonel yetersizliðinin belirlenmesinde Kol, Omuz ve El Dizabilite (DASH) Anketi kullanýldý. Hastalarýn el kaba kavrama kuvveti, palmar ve lateral çimdik kuvvetleri ve iþlevsel özürlülük skorlarý saðlýklý kontrollerle karþýlaþtýrýldý. BULGULAR: Köstebek tabancasýyla el yaralanmasý olan 22 hasta çalýþmaya dahil edildi. Hastalarýn yaþ ortalamasý 63.0±16.9 (22–86) idi ve bir tanesi hariç tümü erkekti. Hastalarýn yarýsýndan fazlasýnda dominant el yaralanmasý (%63.6) ve majör el yaralanmasý (%59.1) saptandý. Hastalarýn iþlevsel özürlülük skorlarý saðlýklý kontrollere göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlý derecede yüksek iken, kaba kavrama kuvvetleri ve palmar çimdik kuvvetleri istatistiksel anlamlýlýkla düþüktü.
TARTIÞMA: Yaralanmanýn üzerinden yýllar geçmesine raðmen hastalarýmýzýn ellerinde iþlevsel bozukluk vardý ve el güçleri kontrollere göre daha düþüktü. Kamuoyu köstebek tabancalarý ve yýkýcý etkileri hakkýnda bilinçlendirilmeli, köstebek tabancalarý ateþli silahlar kapsamýnda deðerlendirilmeli ve yasaklanmalýdýr.