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ERIC Number: EJ1435761
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2155-5834
Available Date: N/A
Traumatic Pediatric Firearm Injuries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Kristin G. Crichton; Farah W. Brink; Kelli N. Patterson; Nichole L. Michaels
Journal of Applied Research on Children, v12 n2 Article 3 2021
Statement of Purpose: The purpose of this study is to epidemiologically describe firearms injuries treated at a Level 1 pediatric trauma center occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare them to injuries seen in the year prior. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of patients seen by pediatric trauma surgery for a firearm injury between February 1, 2019 and March 30, 2021; the pre-pandemic time period included February 1, 2019 - March 9, 2020 and the pandemic period included March 10, 2020 - March 31, 2021. We excluded patients with firearms injuries that were not assessed by trauma surgery and patients with injuries from non-powder guns. Results: Twenty-eight patients were seen for firearm injuries in the pre-pandemic period; 22 (78.5%) were male, and the mean age was 13.3 years, with 17.8% of patients < 10 years old. Sixteen (57.1%) were black, 8 (28.6%) white, and 4 (14.3%) multiracial. The pandemic period included 80 patients with firearm injuries, with 59 (74%) male, and a mean age of 12.5 years. Seventeen (21.5%) were < 10 years old. Fifty-six (70%) of patients during the pandemic period were black, 15 (20%) white, 6 (7.5%) multiracial, and 2 (2.5%) Hispanic. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups demographically. No patients were identified as having an intentional self-inflicted firearm injury. Conclusion: While there was a nearly threefold increase in pediatric firearm injuries seen during the pandemic, the demographics of the victims have not changed compared to pre-pandemic patterns. This reflects a need for ongoing and targeted preventive measures to reduce these extremely high-risk injuries.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A