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Serious and fatal air gun injuries: more than meets the eye
S L Bratton1, M D Dowd, T V Brogan
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Insights
Air guns cause severe pediatric injuries, including head trauma, blindness, and fatalities. Increased regulation and safety standards are crucial to prevent these preventable hospitalizations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Traumatology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Air gun injuries represent a significant, yet often underestimated, cause of pediatric trauma.
- Understanding the epidemiology of these injuries is vital for developing effective prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To delineate the epidemiological characteristics of air gun injuries in children requiring hospitalization.
- To identify risk factors and injury patterns associated with air gun incidents.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective chart review was conducted on a consecutive series of children hospitalized with air gun injuries.
- Data were collected from urban pediatric teaching hospitals in Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Seattle.
Main Results:
- The study included 101 children, predominantly male (81%) and white (80%), with a median age of 10.9 years.
- Most injuries were unintentional (71%), often inflicted by friends or siblings, occurring at home or a friend's home.
- Significant injuries included head trauma (49%), eye injuries (38%) leading to permanent visual loss in 66%, intracranial injuries (10%) with a mortality rate of 30%, and abdominal injuries (19%).
Conclusions:
- Air gun incidents are associated with severe, life-altering, and fatal injuries in children.
- There is a critical need for parental counseling regarding the dangers of air guns and advocacy for stricter safety regulations and standards.
Objective:
To describe the epidemiology of air gun injuries to children that required hospitalization.
Design:
A consecutive series of children with air gun injuries.
Setting:
Urban pediatric teaching hospitals in Cincinnati, OH; Kansas City, MO; and Seattle, WA.
Methods:
A retrospective chart review.
Results:
A total of 101 children were studied: 81% were male; 80% were white, 18% were black, and 2% were other races. The median age was 10.9 years (range, 0.5 to 18.8). Victims were most commonly shot by a friend (30%) or sibling (21%). A total of 34% occurred at the victim's home, and 36% occurred at the home of a friend or relative. Although 71% of shootings were unintentional, 5% were assaults, and 1% were suicides. The median hospital stay was 3 days (range, 1 to 17 days). Fifteen children (15%) required treatment in intensive care. A total of 56% required at least one surgical procedure. Forty-nine had injuries to the head, including 38 with injuries to the eye, 10 with intracranial injuries, and 1 with a skull injury. Fourteen children were shot in the neck; 15 were shot in the chest, with 2 patients sustaining lacerations of the pericardium and 1 having a right ventricular foreign body. Another child had a laceration of the innominate artery. Nineteen had abdominal injuries, including laceration of the stomach (N = 3), small bowel (N = 4), colon (N = 2), and liver (N = 3). Three of 10 children with intracranial injuries died. Two had long-term neurologic deficits. Of children with eye injuries, 25 (66%) had permanent visual loss and 15 (39%) of these were blind.
Conclusion:
Air guns are associated with serious and fatal injuries. Families should be counseled that air guns may cause serious injuries and even death. Furthermore, pediatric care givers should advocate for increased regulation of air guns and expansion of safety standards.