Search

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Approximately 1 in 5 child passenger deaths in the United States involves an alcohol-impaired driver most commonly the child's own driver The objective of this study was to document recent trends and state-specific rates of these deaths. METHODS: A descriptive analysis of 2001-2010 Fatality Analysis Reporting System data for child passengers aged <15 years killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Driver impairment was defined as a blood alcohol concentration of ≥0.08 g/dL. RESULTS: During 2001-2010, 2344 children <15 years were killed in crashes involving at least 1 alcohol-impaired driver Of these children, 1515 (65%) were riding with an impaired driver Annual deaths among children riding with an alcohol-impaired driver decreased by 41% over the decade. Among the 37 states included in the state-level analysis, Texas (272) and California (135) had the most children killed while riding with an impaired driver and South Dakota (0.98) and New Mexico (0.86) had the highest annualized child passenger death rates (per 100 000 children). Most (61%) child passengers of impaired drivers were unrestrained at the time of the crash. One-third of the impaired drivers did not have a valid driver's license. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol-impaired driving remains a substantial threat to the safety of child passengers in the United States, and typically involves children being driven by impaired drivers. This risk varies meaningfully among states. To make further progress, states and communities could consider increased use of effective interventions and efforts aimed specifically at protecting child passengers from impaired drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 <18 years of age. Abuse was defined by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for injuries (800-959) and for physical abuse (995.50, 995.54, 995.55, or 995.59), selected assault codes (E960-966, 968), or child battering (E967). We examined demographic characteristics, mean costs, and length of stay in 3 groups of hospitalized children: abusive injuries, nonabusive injuries, and all other reasons for hospitalization. Incidence was calculated using the weighted number of cases of physical abuse and the number of children at risk based on 2006 intercensal data. 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 <18 years of age. The incidence was highest in children <1 year of age (58.2 per 100 000; 95% CI: 51.0-65.3) and even higher in infants covered by Medicaid (133.1 per 100 000; 95% CI: 115.2-151.0 [or 1 in 752 infants]). Overall, there were 300 children who died in the hospital due to physical abuse. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]