NONBATTERING PRESENTATIONS TO THE ED OF WOMEN IN PHYSICALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS

To determine which diagnoses in the emergency department (ED), apart f rom battering injuries, were more common among women who were living i n physically abusive relationships than among women who were not, a st udy was conducted in 10 hospital-based EDs in two cities serving inner city, urban, and suburban populations, A total of 9,057 women between the ages of 19 and 65 years presenting to the EDs were eligible for t he study, Medical records were reviewed, and a written questionnaire w as used, The questionnaire was completed by 4,501 (73% of those asked, 59% of those eligible, and 50% of those presenting). Two hundred sixt y-six (5.9%) were currently in a physically abusive relationship but n ot in the ED for battering injuries, and 3,969 (88.2%) were not curren tly in a physically abusive relationship, An additional 266 (5.9%) wer e positive, probable, or suggestive for battering injuries and exclude d from diagnosis comparisons, Women in physically abusive relationship s were more likely to be diagnosed with urinary tract infections, neck pain, vaginitis, foot wound, suicide attempt, and finger fracture, Ho wever, these represented only 19.8% of diagnoses in this group, The us e of this knowledge alone to predict the presence of intimate violence in individual patients in the ED will not identify the majority of wo men at risk, These results suggest the use of routine inquiry for abus e in all women. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B, Saunders Company.