Patients with serious gunshot wounds were frequently taken to non–trauma centers and were rarely transferred to a higher level of care.
CDC guidelines for field triage of injured patients recommend that patients with firearm injuries of the head, trunk, or extremities proximal to the elbow or knee should be taken to a designated trauma center, even if this requires bypassing a closer, nondesignated center. These authors retrospectively examined triage patterns and outcomes for 9886 firearm-related injuries treated in Cook County, Illinois, and its surrounding counties from 2009 to 2013.
Injured patients were disproportionately male (91%), African-American (76%), and young (54% were aged 15–24 years). Among 4934 patients with injuries meeting anatomic criteria for triage to a trauma center, 884 (18%) were initially cared for at a nondesignated center, and of these patients, o…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresRoyaltiesUpToDate
Grant/Research SupportEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; MINDSOURCE
Editorial BoardsThe Quarterly Update: Reviews of Current Child Abuse Medical Research; Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesThe Helfer Society (Executive Committee Member)
DisclosuresRoyaltiesUpToDate
Grant/Research SupportEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; MINDSOURCE
Editorial BoardsThe Quarterly Update: Reviews of Current Child Abuse Medical Research; Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesThe Helfer Society (Executive Committee Member)