TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - The COVID-19 pandemic and associated rise in pediatric firearm injuries: a multi-institutional study
JO  - Journal of pediatric surgery
A1  - Collings, Amelia T.
A1  - Farazi, Manzur
A1  - Van Arendonk, Kyle J.
A1  - Fallat, Mary E.
A1  - Minneci, Peter C.
A1  - Sato, Thomas T.
A1  - Speck, K. Elizabeth
A1  - Deans, Katherine J.
A1  - Falcone, Richard A. Jr
A1  - Foley, David S.
A1  - Fraser, Jason D.
A1  - Gadepalli, Samir K.
A1  - Keller, Martin S.
A1  - Kotagal, Meera
A1  - Landman, Matthew P.
A1  - Leys, Charles M.
A1  - Markel, Troy A.
A1  - Rubalcava, Nathan
A1  - St Peter, Shawn D.
A1  - Flynn-O'Brien, Katherine T.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Firearm sales in the United States (U.S.) markedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to determine if firearm injuries in children were associated with stay-at-home orders (SHO) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized there would be an increase in pediatric firearm injuries during SHO. <br><br>METHODS: This was a multi institutional, retrospective study of institutional trauma registries. Patients <18 years with traumatic injuries meeting National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) criteria were included. A "COVID" cohort, defined as time from initiation of state SHO through September 30, 2020 was compared to "Historical" controls from an averaged period of corresponding dates in 2016-2019. An interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) was utilized to evaluate the association of the U.S. declaration of a national state of emergency with pediatric firearm injuries. <br><br>RESULTS: Nine Level I pediatric trauma centers were included, contributing 48,111 pediatric trauma patients, of which 1,090 patients (2.3%) suffered firearm injuries. There was a significant increase in the proportion of firearm injuries in the COVID cohort (COVID 3.04% vs. Historical 1.83%; p < 0.001). There was an increased cumulative burden of firearm injuries in 2020 compared to a historical average. ITSA showed an 87% increase in the observed rate of firearm injuries above expected after the declaration of a nationwide emergency (p < 0.001). <br><br>CONCLUSION: The proportion of firearm injuries affecting children increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was associated with an increase in pediatric firearm injuries above expected rates based on historical patterns.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-3468
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2022.03.034
ID  - ref1
ER  -