There has been a ‘dramatic increase in gun crime in Dublin over the last four decades' and this is placing a burden on hospital services not previously encountered, a new study has found.

Researchers looked at all gunshot victims who ended up in the emergency department (ED) of Connolly Hospital in west Dublin between 2001 and 2010. They wanted to access the impact of these types of injuries on the work of the radiology department, which is responsible for imaging services, such as X-rays, CT scans and MRIs.

Currently in Ireland, personal firearms are licensed and can only be owned under very strict conditions. This is thought to be one of the main reasons why the rate of firearm injuries has remained relatively low in this country.

A 10-year review of gunshot injuries that was published in 1985 showed that there had been 21 injuries, four of which resulted in death.

For this new study, the researchers found that a total of 65 patients with gunshot wounds were seen in Connolly Hospital's ED between 2001 and 2010. Of these, charts were available for 59.

The patients were aged between 15 and 52, although the average age was 27. The researchers noted that this average age had fallen from 31.

Just one female was treated, almost half of the patients said they were unemployed and 10 were from the Travelling community.

Eight of the patients died in the ED and of the remainder who survived, 43 required radiography services. Fifteen had CT scans in the emergency setting, while 10 had follow-up CT scans. Four patients needed emergency ultrasound scans.

The researchers noted that there has been ‘a dramatic increase in gun crime in Dublin over the previous four decades' and more people are now dying from their wounds.

They pointed out that there has been a big increase in high-velocity firearms - handguns, semi-automatic weapons and rifles - and this is largely linked to increases in gangland activity and the illegal drug trade.

The researchers also found that even when a patient dies from a gunshot injury, they are still often referred to the radiological department. For example, during the study period, 15 victims underwent post-mortem radiological scanning.

Such cases are usually for legal or forensic purposes, such as bullet retrieval.

The researchers concluded that the number of gunshot injuries in Ireland is still relatively low when compared with other developed countries and the burden on radiology departments is also relatively low.

However they warned that should gun use and gun-related injuries continue to rise, ‘further resources and expertise may be required'.

Details of these findings were published in the Irish Medical Journal.