Hospitalizations for
firearm injuries prevalent among children
About 20 children per day in the United States are injured by firearms seriously enough to require hospitalization, and more than 6% of these children die from their injuries, according to a study by Yale School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues published in the Jan. 27 online issue of Pediatrics.
John
Leventhal, M.D., and his team studied children and adolescents younger than age
20 at the time of admission to the hospital in 2009. In that year, in the
United States, 7,391 hospitalizations occurred in this age group because of
firearm injuries, and 453 of those young patients died while in the hospital.
Most of these hospitalizations resulted from assaults (4,559), but in children
younger than age 10, 75% of the almost 400 hospitalizations were due to
unintentional or accidental injuries.
Leventhal and his team found that the most common types of firearm injuries included open wounds (52%); fractures (50%); and internal injuries of the thorax, abdomen or pelvis (34%).
Traumatic
brain injuries occurred most often in children younger than age 5. Children who
survive firearm injuries often require extensive follow-up treatment once
released from the hospital, including rehabilitation, home health care,
hospital readmission from delayed effects of the injury, and mental health or
social services.
"These
data highlight the toll of gun-related injuries that extends beyond
high-profile cases, and those children and adolescents who die before being
hospitalized. Pediatricians and other health care providers can play an
important role in preventing these injuries through counseling about firearm
safety, including safe storage," said Leventhal, who points to the American
Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations that the safest home for a child is a
home without guns, and, if there is a gun in the home, that it must be stored
unloaded and locked, with the ammunition locked separately.
Story Source:
The
above story is based on materials provided by Yale University. Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
Journal Reference:
1.
John M. Leventhal, MD
et al. Hospitalizations Due to Firearm Injuries in Children and
Adolescents. Pediatrics, January 2014
Cite This Page:
·
MLA
·
APA
·
Chicago
Yale University. "After the gunshot: Hospitalizations for
firearm injuries prevalent among children." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27
January 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140127093136.htm>.