Citation

Junkins EP, Knight S, Olson LM, Lightfoot A, Keller P, Corneli HM. Acad. Emerg. Med. 2001; 8(4): 343-348.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1553-2712.2001.tb02112.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

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