US emergency department visits for fireworks injuries, 2006-2010

Authors

Joseph K. Canner, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Adil H. Haider, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MarylandFollow
Shalini Selvarajah, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Xuan Hui, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Han Wang, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
David T. Efron, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Elliott R. Haut, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Catherine G. Velopulos, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

Document Type

Article

Department

General Surgery

Abstract

Background: Most literature regarding fireworks injuries are from outside the United States, whereas US-based reports focus primarily on children and are based on datasets which cannot provide accurate estimates for subgroups of the US population.
Methods: The 2006-2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample was used to identify patients with fireworks injury using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification external cause of injury code E923.0. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes were examined to determine the mechanism, type, and location of injury. Sampling weights were applied during analysis to obtain US population estimates.
Results: There were 25,691 emergency department visits for fireworks-related injuries between 2006 and 2010. There was no consistent trend in annual injury rates during the 5-y period. The majority of visits (50.1%) were in patients aged <20 y. Most injuries were among males (76.4%) and were treated in hospitals in the Midwest and South (42.0% and 36.4%, respectively) than in the West and Northeast (13.3% and 8.3%, respectively) census regions. Fireworks-related injuries were most common in July (68.1%), followed by June (8.3%), January (6.6%), December (3.4%), and August (3.1%). The most common injuries (26.7%) were burns of the wrist, hand, and finger, followed by contusion or superficial injuries to the eye (10.3%), open wounds of the wrist, hand, and finger (6.5%), and burns of the eye (4.6%).
Conclusions: Emergency department visits for fireworks injuries are concentrated around major national holidays and are more prevalent in certain parts of the country and among young males. This suggests that targeted interventions may be effective in combating this public health problem

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University

Publication (Name of Journal)

The Journal of surgical research

Recommended Citation

Canner, J. K., Haider, A. H., Selvarajah, S., Hui, X., Wang, H., Efron, D. T., Haut, E. R., Velopulos, C. G. (2014). US emergency department visits for fireworks injuries, 2006-2010. The Journal of surgical research, 190(1), 305-11.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_surg_gen/371