Case Resolution

You politely explain to the surgical resident the nature of bullets, and proper evidence collection procedures. They thank you for helping them out and you offer to stay and help show them how to package the evidence. The bullet is removed with a plastic forceps and placed in a plastic basin until you and the resident package it in a specimen cup, label it, and complete the chain of custody form for law enforcement.

Dr. Rozzi is an emergency physician, secretary of the Forensic Examiner Team at WellSpan York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, and chair of the Forensic Section of ACEP.

Dr. Riviello is chair and professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fast Facts: Firearms injury prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/firearms/fastfact.html. Accessed May 4, 2022.
2. BiMaio VJM. Gunshot wounds: practical aspects of firearms, ballistics, and forensic techniques. Gunshot Wounds. https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/law/forensics/Gunshot%20Wounds%20-%20Practical%20Aspects%20of%20Firearms%20Ballistics%20and%20Forensic%20Techn.%202nd%20ed.%20-%20V.%20DiMaio.pdf. Published 2010. Accessed January 25, 2023.
3. Sing RF, Sullivan JM Gunshot/shotgun injuries. In: Riviello RJ (ed). Manual of forensic emergency medicine: a guide for clinicians, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2010, 2010, pp. 87–97.
4. Masteller MA, Prahlow A, Walsh MM, Thomas SG, Wolfenbarger R, Prahlow JA. Proper handling of bullet evidence in trauma patients. Trauma. 2014;16(3):189-194.