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Analysis of School Injuries Resulting in Emergency Department or Hospital Admission
Author(s) -
Junkins Edward P.,
Knight Stacey,
Olson Lenora M.,
Lightfoot Amy,
Keller Patricia,
Corneli Howard M.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2001.tb02112.x
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , emergency medicine , epidemiology , injury prevention , poison control , hospital admission , pediatrics , medical emergency , nursing
.Objective: To describe the epidemiology of school injuries resulting in emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admission, or death. Methods: Utah statewide school injuries from 1992 to 1996 were probabilistically linked to statewide ED records (1996 only), inpatient hospital records (1992‐1996), and death certificate records (1992‐1996). Results: There were 43,881 school injuries for the years 1992 through 1996. In 1996, 1,534 of 6,354 total school injuries (17.5%) resulted in ED evaluation. Between 1992 and 1996, 354 school injuries (0.8%) necessitated hospital admission. The overall rates of school injuries (per 1,000 students) of primary (kindergarten—grade 6) and secondary (grades 7‐12) school students requiring ED evaluation were 3.29 and 3.28, respectively; for hospital admission, 0.165 and 0.139. Abbreviated Injury Scale‐1990 (AIS‐90) regions identified in ED patients were the upper extremity (39.2%), face (20.8%), and lower extremity (17.1%), while AIS regions among inpatients were lower extremity (29.1%), upper extremity (26.6%), and head (22.6%). There were a total of 1,123 hospital days, and total charges of $2.16 million. The ED charges totaled $545,000. Median length of hospital stay was 1 day, and median hospital charge was $3,080. There were four fatalities. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the significance of school injuries and the need for interventions to prevent these injuries