Loading...
Investigators used the 2009 Kids' Inpatient Database (a national sample of more than 4000 hospitals in 44 states) to evaluate demographics and costs of hospitalizations for firearm injuries in patients younger than 20. Of an estimated 7400 children and adolescents (89% male; 47% black) hospitalized for firearm injuries during 2009, 62% were due to assaults, 29% to unintentional injuries, and 4% to suicide attempts. Overall, 62% of patients required operative intervention and 453 (6%) died in the hospital.
Among children <10 years of age, most hospitalizations (75%) were due to unintentional injuries, whereas among youth 15 to 19 years of age, most hospitalizations (67%) were due to assaults. The hospitalization rate was 9 per 100,000 persons…