학술논문
Variability in firearm injury among major pediatric trauma centers across the USA
Document Type
article
Author
Katherine Russell; Katherine Feske-Kirby; Joel Fein; Claudia R Morris; Michael Nance; Nicholas Cooper; Sofia Chaudhary; Stephanie M Ruest; Colleen K Gutman; Kiesha Fraser Doh; Ashkon Shaahinfar; Thomas Chun; Alayna Feng; Janet Figueroa; Jacqueline Grupp-Phelan; Ghid Kanaan; Nora Keathley; Naghma Khan; Katherine McGlamry; Sage Myers; Kelli Rowker; Erica Sheline; Harold K Simon
Source
Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open, Vol 8, Iss 1 (2023)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
2397-5776
Abstract
Objectives In 2020, firearm injuries surpassed automobile collisions as the leading cause of death in US children. Annual automobile fatalities have decreased during 40 years through a multipronged approach. To develop similarly targeted public health interventions to reduce firearm fatalities, there is a critical need to first characterize firearm injuries and their outcomes at a granular level. We sought to compare firearm injuries, outcomes, and types of shooters at trauma centers in four pediatric health systems across the USA.Methods We retrospectively extracted data from each institution’s trauma registry, paper and electronic health records. Study included all patients less than 19 years of age with a firearm injury between 2003 and 2018. Variables collected included demographics, intent, resources used, and emergency department and hospital disposition. Descriptive statistics were reported using medians and IQRs for continuous data and counts with percentages for categorical data. χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test was conducted for categorical comparisons.Results Our cohort (n=1008, median age 14 years) was predominantly black and male. During the study period, there was an overall increase in firearm injuries, driven primarily by increases in the South (S) site (β=0.11 (SE 0.02), p=