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Background: Child physical abuse causes significant morbidity. Previous research has established key physical examination and radiographic findings that are associated with abusive injury. A gap in the literature, however, is the role of additional injury circumstances and details, such as the context in which the injury occurred, in distinguishing abusive from accidental injuries. Hypothesis: Are there historical elements of the context in which a child’s injury occurs that are more likely associated with either abusive or accidental mechanisms? Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records …

OBJECTIVES: Firearms are a leading cause of injury and death for children and adolescents in the United States. We examined how hospitalization rates for firearm injuries differ for rural and urban populations. METHODS: The Kids’ Inpatient Database was used to identify hospitalizations for firearm injuries in patients RESULTS: There were 21 581 hospitalizations for firearm injuries. The overall hospitalization rate was higher in urban versus rural areas (risk ratio [RR] = 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.81–2.10). Rates were highest for assaults in urban 15- to 19-year-olds (RR = 7.82; 95% CI: 6.48–9.44). Unintentional injuries were the leading cause of hospitalizations in younger age groups in all urban and rural locations. Rates for unintentional injuries were lower among urban versus rural 5- to 9-year-olds (RR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.36–0.63) and 10- to 14-year-olds (RR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.37–0.52). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalizations for firearm assaults among urban 15- to 19-year-olds represent the highest injury rate. Notably, hospitalizations are lower for urban versus rural 5- to 9-year-olds and 10- to 14-year-olds, and unintentional firearm injuries are most common among these groups. Preventative public health approaches should address these differences in injury epidemiology.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Despite recent national attention on deaths from firearms, little information exists about children and adolescents who are hospitalized for firearm injuries. The objective was to determine the national frequency of firearm-related hospitalizations in the United States in children, compare rates by cause and demographics, and describe hospitalized cases. METHODS: We used the 2009 Kids’ Inpatient Database to identify hospitalizations from firearm-related injuries in young people RESULTS: In 2009, 7391 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6523–8259) hospitalizations were due to firearm-related injuries. The hospitalization rate was 8.87 (95% CI: 7.83–9.92) per 100 000 persons CONCLUSIONS: On average, 20 US children and adolescents were hospitalized each day in 2009 due to firearm injuries. Public health efforts are needed to reduce this common source of childhood injury.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although US child protective services data showed a 55% decrease in the national incidence of substantiated physical abuse from 1992 to 2009, no study has tracked the occurrence of serious injuries due to physical abuse. This study examined changes in the incidence of serious injuries due to physical abuse in hospitalized children from 1997 to 2009. METHODS: The Kids’ Inpatient Database, a sample of discharges from hospitals in the United States, includes International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis and external cause of injury codes; it was prepared every 3 years from 1997 to 2009. Cases of serious physical abuse (eg, abusive head injury) were identified by using injury codes (800–959) and codes for abuse (995.50, 0.54, 0.55, and 0.59), selected assault codes (E960–966, 968), or perpetrator of abuse (E967). The weighted number of hospitalizations due to serious physical abuse was used to calculate the national incidence, and χ2 for linear trend compared over time the incidence for children RESULTS: The incidence per 100 000 children CONCLUSIONS: Over 12 years, when substantiated physical abuse was declining, there was a small increase in the incidence of serious physical abuse in children

BACKGROUND There are limited data on the epidemiology of serious injuries due to physical abuse of children. METHODS: We used the 2006 Kids’ Inpatient Database to estimate the incidence of hospitalizations due to serious physical abuse among children RESULTS: The weighted number of cases due to abuse was 4569; the incidence was 6.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.5–6.9) per 100 000 children CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to provide national US data on the occurrence of serious injuries due to physical abuse in hospitalized children. Data from the 2006 Kids’ Inpatient Database on hospitalizations due to serious physical abuse can be used to track trends over time and the effects of prevention programs on serious physical abuse.