TOPLINE:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric emergency department (ED) visits for firearm injuries more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic trends, along with an increase in mortality rates.
METHODOLOGY:
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Pediatric firearm injuries significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but recent trends in ED visits for firearm injuries are not well-documented.
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This retrospective study evaluated 1904 pediatric firearm injury ED visits across nine children’s hospitals before (January 2017 to February 2020) and during (March 2020 to November 2022) the pandemic.
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Of 1904 visits, 694 were reported before the pandemic and 1210 during the pandemic.
TAKEAWAY:
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During the pandemic, pediatric firearm injury ED visit rates surged from 18.0 to 36.1 per 30 days, more than twice the predicted rate based on prepandemic trends (rate ratio [RR], 2.09; 95% CI, 1.63-2.91).
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This increase beyond expected rates was primarily driven by children aged 10-14 years (RR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.69-5.71) and 15-17 years (RR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.51-3.38).
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Death in the ED or hospital rose from 3.1% of visits before the pandemic to 6.1% of visits during the pandemic (P = .007).
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Emergency severity index level 1 visits increased from 38.5% before the pandemic to 46.4% during the pandemic (P = .027).
IN PRACTICE:
The authors wrote, “Access to guns stored unsafely in the home may have contributed to increases in self-inflicted and unintentional firearm injuries. Simultaneously, psychosocial stressors and financial strains related to the pandemic may have led to increases in assault and self-inflicted firearm injuries.”
They further added, “A comprehensive public health approach is required to reduce the rising tide of firearm injuries in children.”
SOURCE:
The lead author of the study was Jennifer A Hoffmann, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The study was published online in the Pediatrics on November 6, 2023.
LIMITATIONS:
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There may be a possibility of miscoding of the intent of firearm injuries and misclassification of race and ethnicity in electronic health record data.
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The study did not include children who died at the scene and were not transferred to the ED.
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The findings cannot be generalized to nonpediatric trauma centers, where most firearm-injured children in the United States receive emergency care.
DISCLOSURES:
This study was supported by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. No conflicts of interest were reported.
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Cite this: Pediatric Firearm Injuries See a Significant Surge in Pandemic – Medscape – Dec 04, 2023.
