A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF TRAUMA RECIDIVISM

Background: Patients with repeat presentations to acute care hospitals for new injuries are trauma recidivists. Prospective identification o f those patients at greatest risk will permit focusing of limited hosp ital prevention resources, Methods: A population-based analysis of pat ients with recurrent trauma presenting to all hospitals in Nevada duri ng a 5-year period was conducted, Records of 10,355 presentations repr esenting 10,137 patients were analyzed, Results: Recidivist trauma pat ients were younger than non-recidivists, with patients aged 20 to 24 y ears having significantly higher rates of recidivism, Males were 1.53 times more likely than females to become recidivists. Cutting/piercing and machinery-related injuries were most frequently associated with r ecidivism. Cutting/piercing wound survivors were 7.06 times more likel y to be recidivists than were gunshot wound survivors. Recidivists in motor vehicles crashes were 1.92 times less likely to wear seat belts than nonrecidivists, Recidivism was also significantly associated with positive blood alcohol levels and longer initial hospital stays. Conc lusion: The rate of trauma recidivism in this study was 2,0%, Populati on-based data can he used to identify cohorts at risk of recidivism.