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Newly Released Statistics Offer Injury Insight to Youth in Cincinnati Area

Monday, January 01, 0001

Trauma Services at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center recently released 2005 statistics offering insight into occurrences of gun violence, drownings and dog bites of youth in this area.

"We hope these statistics will be used by parents, guardians, educators or religious leaders to help prevent injuries that are avoidable among children and adolescents in our area. Understanding our local patterns of injury allows us to better address problems in our community," says Richard Falcone, MD, Associate Director of Trauma Services at Cincinnati Children's.

Youth Gun Violence

Cincinnati Children's has seen a steady increase in young patients with gun shot wounds since 1999. The number of children evaluated at Cincinnati Children's in 2005 was greater than three times the number in 1999. Most of the gunshot wounds reportedly occurred because of assault with a deadly weapon. "Unfortunately, young African American males make up a disproportionate number of those injured. Any intervention designed to reduce these injuries will need to be directed towards these young men," said Dr. Falcone.

Drownings

There has been a slight decrease in the number of drownings or near drownings since 2003. "This slight decrease is encouraging and likely represents improved awareness and water safety," said Dr. Falcone. Overall, drownings seem to occur in equal proportions among African American and Caucasian children and generally are more common in boys. Home or community pools continue to be the biggest risk factor but pond / lake drownings seem to be increasing.

Dog Bites

Annually Cincinnati Children's sees nearly 500 children as a result of dog bites and there seems to be a slight increase in the severity of these injuries. "Younger children are more likely to be victims of severe bites and should be closely supervised near dogs," said Dr. Falcone.

New Statistics Coming Soon

Over the next few weeks, new statistics will also become available through Trauma Services at Cincinnati Children's detailing injuries from motor vehicles, falls, pedestrian, bicycle and sports. For a full report on these or upcoming statistics, contact Marla Fuller, marla.fuller@cchmc.org or Margie Brunn, margie.brunn@cchmc.org.

Cincinnati Children's is a 475-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to transforming the way health care is delivered by providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. It ranks third nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health.