M. Melzerlange et al., ADVISED FOLLOW-UP AFTER EMERGENCY TREATMENT OF ADOLESCENTS WITH VIOLENCE-RELATED INJURIES, Pediatric emergency care, 14(5), 1998, pp. 334-337
Objective: To compare the rate of advised medical follow-up for adoles
cents with violence-related, nonsuicidal injuries versus other complai
nts. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Pediatric emergency depar
tment (ED). Patients: All visits by adolescents, aged 13 to 18 years,
during a one-week period from each season during 1992. Main outcome me
asures/results: Advised medical follow-up for patients sustaining viol
ence-related injuries versus other complaints were compared. Four hund
red twenty-six visits were reviewed; 351(82%) resulted in discharge fr
om the ED. Sixty-eight (16%) were classified as violence-related, nons
uicidal. Male adolescents were more likely to sustain violence-related
injuries (66% vs 34%, P < 0.01). There were no differences in admissi
on rate or having a primary care provider (PCP) between the violence-r
elated injury group and the group with other complaints. Adolescents w
ith other complaints were twice as likely to have follow-up advised. P
resence of PCP and older age were also positively associated with advi
sed follow-up. Conclusion: Adolescents sustaining violence-related inj
uries were less likely to have follow-up advised at the time of their
ED visit than were adolescents presenting with other complaints. Viole
ntly injured adolescents, at risk for recurrent violent injuries and p
sychosocial sequelae, were less likely to have follow-up advised at th
e time of their ED visit than were adolescents presenting with other c
omplaints.