Pediatric Gunshot Injuries in the Western U.S.

In a retrospective study of injured children (ages 0 to 19 years) presenting to 93 hospitals in the Western United States from 2006 to 2009, investigators compared the incidence, injury severity, outcomes, and costs associated with gunshot wounds and other injury mechanisms.

Of nearly 50,000 injured children, 1% had gunshot injuries; of these, 83% were aged 15 to 19, and 85% were male. Compared to children with other injury mechanisms, those with gunshot injuries had more out-of-hospital hypotension (11% vs. 5%) and required more emergency medical services procedures (72% vs. 20%). Children with gunshot injuries had more blood transfusions (9%) and major surgical interventions (32%) than children with any other injury mechanism (correspondin…