Characteristics of pediatric emergency department visits for youth 10-15 years old with injuries due to interpersonal violence

Emergency Department‐Attended Injuries Resulting from School‐Based Violence in Baltimore Adolescents, 2019‐2020

“…The majority (65.2%) of these school-based injuries result from peer violence, whereas in the overall ED population of youth treated for interpersonal violence-related injuries that occur in any setting, 19.2% are attributed to peer violence. 16 Although the majority of violence-related injuries occurring at school resulted from peer violence, more than 20% resulted from an altercation with a teacher or school staff. An interesting finding is that while staff are identified as included in altercations, it is unclear if any of the staff involved were school police or a school resource officer.…”

“…Polling suggests that injuries are increasing for those living at home and that quarantines have been linked with increasing child maltreatment and family violence. 16,23,24 Although patients were commonly transported to the ED by car or walk-in, it was interesting that the nearly 18% of patients were transported to the ED by police. In a study from Philadelphia, researchers found that those who were injured and transported to the hospital by police, were more likely to be younger, injured by a firearm, more severely injured, and more likely to have hypotension at arrival than those injured and transported by EMS.…”

“…In our study population of 10‐ to 15‐year‐old adolescents, 1 in 7 of violence‐related interpersonal injuries that result in medical attention in the ED for adolescents, occur at school. The majority (65.2%) of these school‐based injuries result from peer violence, whereas in the overall ED population of youth treated for interpersonal violence‐related injuries that occur in any setting, 19.2% are attributed to peer violence 16 . Although the majority of violence‐related injuries occurring at school resulted from peer violence, more than 20% resulted from an altercation with a teacher or school staff.…”

“…Despite this decline in school‐related injuries, it is likely that youth continue to sustain violent injuries but these may have occurred in the home or in their community instead of at school. Polling suggests that injuries are increasing for those living at home and that quarantines have been linked with increasing child maltreatment and family violence 16,23,24 …”

“…The study methodology has been described in detail. 16 Briefly, through a query of electronic health records (EHR), charts were identified of patients 10-15 years old who presented with a violence-related injury that occurred at school between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020 using methodology established in prior work to identify youth with violence-related injuries. [17][18][19] This includes the time after which a statewide stay-at-home order was issued (March 30, 2020) and phases of re-opening, which allowed for school attendance.…”