Measurement of Patient-Level Outcomes After Implementation of Trauma-Informed Care Training in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma-informed care has been posited as a framework to optimize patient care and engagement, but there is a paucity of data on patient-level outcomes after trauma-informed care training in health care settings. We sought to measure patient-level outcomes after a painful procedure after implementation of trauma-informed care training for ED staff. METHODS: As part of a quality improvement initiative, we trained 110 ED providers in trauma-informed care. Next, we prospectively recruited patients who had undergone a painful procedure to complete a survey to assess several patient-level outcomes, such as anxiety reduction and overall experience of care. We compared differences in patient outcomes for those who were treated by providers in the trauma-informed care intervention group with those who were treated by providers who did not complete the training (usual care). RESULTS: One-hundred forty-seven adult patients completed survey measures (n = 76 trauma-informed care intervention group; n = 71 usual care group) over a 1-month period. Most patients offered the highest rating for all ED staff-related questions. We found no significant differences in assessment of patient-reported outcomes based on intervention versus usual care. DISCUSSION: Our trauma-informed care training did not seem to have a significant effect on our selected patient outcomes. This may be caused by the training itself or the challenges in measurement of the patient-level impact of trauma-informed care training owing to the study design, setting, and lack of standardized tools. Recommendations for future study of trauma-informed care training and measuring its direct impact on patients in the ED setting are discussed.

Mental Health Care Following Firearm and Motor Vehicle-related Injuries: Differences Impacting Our Treatment Strategies.

OBJECTIVE: To compare new mental health diagnoses (NMHD) in children after a firearm injury versus following a motor vehicle collision (MVC). BACKGROUND: A knowledge gap exists regarding childhood mental health diagnoses following firearm injuries, notably in comparison to other forms of traumatic injury. METHODS: We utilized Medicaid MarketScan claims (2010-2016) to conduct a matched case-control study of children ages 3 to 17 years. Children with firearm injuries were matched with up to 3 children with MVC injuries. Severity was determined by injury severity score and emergency department disposition. We used multivariable logistic regression to measure the association of acquiring a NMHD diagnosis in the year postinjury after firearm and MVC mechanisms. RESULTS: We matched 1450 children with firearm injuries to 3691 children with MVC injuries. Compared to MVC injuries, children with firearm injuries were more likely to be black, have higher injury severity score, and receive hospital admission from the emergency department ( P <0.001). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of NMHD diagnosis was 1.55 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.33-1.80] greater after firearm injuries compared to MVC injuries. The odds of a NMHD were higher among children admitted to the hospital compared to those discharged. The increased odds of NMHD after firearm injuries was driven by increases in substance-related and addictive disorders (aOR: 2.08; 95% CI: 1.63-2.64) and trauma and stressor-related disorders (aOR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.55-2.76). CONCLUSIONS: Children were found to have 50% increased odds of having a NMHD in the year following a firearm injury as compared to MVC. Programmatic interventions are needed to address children's mental health following firearm injuries.

Low-Resource Emergency Department Visits for Children With Complex Chronic Conditions.

OBJECTIVE: Reducing emergency department (ED) use in children with complex chronic conditions (CCC) is a national health system priority. Emergency department visits with minimal clinical intervention may be the most avoidable. We assessed characteristics associated with experiencing such a low-resource ED visit among children with a CCC. METHODS: A retrospective study of 271,806 ED visits between 2014 and 2017 among patients with a CCC in the Pediatric Health Information System database was performed. The main outcome was a low-resource ED visit, where no medications, laboratory, procedures, or diagnostic tests were administered and the patient was not admitted to the hospital. χ2 Tests and generalized linear models were used to assess bivariable and multivariable relationships of patients' demographic, clinical, and health service characteristics with the likelihood of a low- versus higher-resource ED visit. RESULTS: Sixteen percent (n = 44,111) of ED visits among children with CCCs were low-resource. In multivariable analysis, the highest odds of experiencing a low- versus higher-resource ED visit occurred in patients aged 0 year (vs 16+ years; odds ratio [OR], 3.9 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 3.7-4.1]), living <5 (vs 20+) miles from the ED (OR, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.7-1.8]), and who presented to the ED in the day and evening versus overnight (1.5 [95% CI, 1.4-1.5]). CONCLUSIONS: Infant age, living close to the ED, and day/evening-time visits were associated with the greatest likelihood of experiencing a low-resource ED visit in children with CCCs. Further investigation is needed to assess key drivers for ED use in these children and identify opportunities for diversion of ED care to outpatient and community settings.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physicians' Perspectives on Emergency Care of Children With Medical Complexity: A Multi-institution Mixed-Methods Assessment.

OBJECTIVE: Children with medical complexity (CMC) compose 1% of the pediatric population but account for 20% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits. Previous descriptions of challenges and interventions to ensure quality of care are limited. Our objective was to elicit pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians' perspectives on challenges and opportunities for improvement of emergency care of CMC, with a focus on emergency information forms (EIFs). METHODS: We conducted a web-based survey of PEM physicians participating the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Emergency Medicine Survey listserv. The survey was designed using an expert panel, and subsequently piloted and revised to an 18-item survey. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-one of 495 respondents (30%) completed the survey. Most respondents (62.9%) reported caring for >10 CMC per month. Whereas overall medical fragility and time constraints were major contributors to the challenges of caring for CMC in the ED, communication with known providers and shared care plans were identified as particularly helpful. Most respondents did not report routine use of EIFs. Anticipated emergencies/action plan was deemed the most important component of EIFs. CONCLUSIONS: Most PEM physicians view the care for CMC in the ED as challenging despite practicing in high-resource environments. Further research is needed to develop and implement strategies to improve care of CMC in the ED. Understanding experiences of providers in general ED settings is also an important next step given that 80% of CMC present for emergency care outside of major children's hospitals.

Emergency management of fever and neutropenia in children with cancer: A review.

INTRODUCTION: Care of pediatric cancer patients is increasingly being provided by physicians in community settings, including general emergency departments. Guidelines based on current evidence have standardized the care of children undergoing chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) presenting with fever and neutropenia (FN). OBJECTIVE: This narrative review evaluates the management of pediatric patients with cancer and neutropenic fever and provides comparison with the care of the adult with neutropenic fever in the emergency department. DISCUSSION: When children with cancer and FN first present for care, stratification of risk is based on a thorough history and physical examination, baseline laboratory and radiologic studies and the clinical condition of the patient, much like that for the adult patient. Prompt evaluation and initiation of intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics after cultures are drawn but before other studies are resulted is critically important and may represent a practice difference for some emergency physicians when compared with standardized adult care. Unlike adults, all high-risk and most low-risk children with FN undergoing chemotherapy require admission for parenteral antibiotics and monitoring. Oral antibiotic therapy with close, structured outpatient monitoring may be considered only for certain low-risk patients at pediatric centers equipped to pursue this treatment strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are many similarities between the emergency approach to FN in children and adults with cancer, there are differences that every emergency physician should know. This review provides strategies to optimize the care of FN in children with cancer in all emergency practice settings.

Pediatric Population Management Classification for Children with Medical Complexity.

Improving the overall care of children with medical complexity (CMC) is often beset by challenges in proactively identifying the population most in need of clinical management and quality improvement. The objective of the current study was to create a system to better capture longitudinal risk for sustained and elevated utilization across time using real-time electronic health record (EHR) data. A new Pediatric Population Management Classification (PPMC), drawn from visit diagnoses and continuity problem lists within the EHR of a tristate health system, was compared with an existing complex chronic conditions (CCC) system for agreement (with weighted κ) on identifying CCMC, as well as persistence of elevated charges and utilization from 2016 to 2019. Agreement of assignment PPMC was lower among primary care provider (PCP) populations than among other children traversing the health system for specialty or hospital services only (weighted κ 62% for PCP vs. 82% for non-PCP). The PPMC classification scheme, displaying greater precision in identifying CMC with persistently high utilization and charges for those who receive primary care within a large integrated health network, may offer a more pragmatic approach to selecting children with CMC for longitudinal care management.

Youth Suicide and Preceding Mental Health Diagnosis.

Importance: Suicide is a leading cause of death among US youths, and mental health disorders are a known factor associated with increased suicide risk. Knowledge about potential sociodemographic differences in documented mental health diagnoses may guide prevention efforts. Objective: To examine the association of documented mental health diagnosis with (1) sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, (2) precipitating circumstances, and (3) mechanism among youth suicide decedents. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective, cross-sectional study of youth suicide decedents aged 10 to 24 years used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Violent Death Reporting System from 2010 to 2021. Data analysis was conducted from January to November 2023. Exposures: Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, precipitating circumstances, and suicide mechanism. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was previously documented presence of a mental health diagnosis. Associations were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression. Results: Among 40 618 youth suicide decedents (23 602 aged 20 to 24 years [58.1%]; 32 167 male [79.2%]; 1190 American Indian or Alaska Native [2.9%]; 1680 Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander [4.2%]; 5118 Black [12.7%]; 5334 Hispanic [13.2%]; 35 034 non-Hispanic; 30 756 White [76.1%]), 16 426 (40.4%) had a documented mental health diagnosis and 19 027 (46.8%) died by firearms. The adjusted odds of having a mental health diagnosis were lower among youths who were American Indian or Alaska Native (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.45; 95% CI, 0.39-0.51); Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (aOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.52-0.64); and Black (aOR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.58-0.66) compared with White youths; lower among Hispanic youths (aOR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.72-0.82) compared with non-Hispanic youths; lower among youths aged 10 to 14 years (aOR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.65-0.76) compared with youths aged 20 to 24 years; and higher for females (aOR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.56-1.73) than males. A mental health diagnosis was documented for 6308 of 19 027 youths who died by firearms (33.2%); 1691 of 2743 youths who died by poisonings (61.6%); 7017 of 15 331 youths who died by hanging, strangulation, or suffocation (45.8%); and 1407 of 3181 youths who died by other mechanisms (44.2%). Compared with firearm suicides, the adjusted odds of having a documented mental health diagnosis were higher for suicides by poisoning (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.62-1.78); hanging, strangulation, and suffocation (aOR, 2.78; 95% CI, 2.55-3.03); and other mechanisms (aOR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.47-1.72). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, 3 of 5 youth suicide decedents did not have a documented preceding mental health diagnosis; the odds of having a mental health diagnosis were lower among racially and ethnically minoritized youths than White youths and among firearm suicides compared with other mechanisms. These findings underscore the need for equitable identification of mental health needs and universal lethal means counseling as strategies to prevent youth suicide.

Race, Ethnicity, Language, and the Treatment of Low-Risk Febrile Infants.

Importance: Febrile infants at low risk of invasive bacterial infections are unlikely to benefit from lumbar puncture, antibiotics, or hospitalization, yet these are commonly performed. It is not known if there are differences in management by race, ethnicity, or language. Objective: To investigate associations between race, ethnicity, and language and additional interventions (lumbar puncture, empirical antibiotics, and hospitalization) in well-appearing febrile infants at low risk of invasive bacterial infection. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a multicenter retrospective cross-sectional analysis of infants receiving emergency department care between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019. Data were analyzed from December 2022 to July 2023. Pediatric emergency departments were determined through the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee. Well-appearing febrile infants aged 29 to 60 days at low risk of invasive bacterial infection based on blood and urine testing were included. Data were available for 9847 infants, and 4042 were included following exclusions for ill appearance, medical history, and diagnosis of a focal infectious source. Exposures: Infant race and ethnicity (non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, and other race or ethnicity) and language used for medical care (English and language other than English). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was receipt of at least 1 of lumbar puncture, empirical antibiotics, or hospitalization. We performed bivariate and multivariable logistic regression with sum contrasts for comparisons. Individual components were assessed as secondary outcomes. Results: Across 34 sites, 4042 infants (median [IQR] age, 45 [38-53] days; 1561 [44.4% of the 3516 without missing sex] female; 612 [15.1%] non-Hispanic Black, 1054 [26.1%] Hispanic, 1741 [43.1%] non-Hispanic White, and 352 [9.1%] other race or ethnicity; 3555 [88.0%] English and 463 [12.0%] language other than English) met inclusion criteria. The primary outcome occurred in 969 infants (24%). Race and ethnicity were not associated with the primary composite outcome. Compared to the grand mean, infants of families that use a language other than English had higher odds of the primary outcome (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]; 1.16; 95% CI, 1.01-1.33). In secondary analyses, Hispanic infants, compared to the grand mean, had lower odds of hospital admission (aOR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.93). Compared to the grand mean, infants of families that use a language other than English had higher odds of hospital admission (aOR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.08-1.46). Conclusions and Relevance: Among low-risk febrile infants, language used for medical care was associated with the use of at least 1 nonindicated intervention, but race and ethnicity were not. Secondary analyses highlight the complex intersectionality of race, ethnicity, language, and health inequity. As inequitable care may be influenced by communication barriers, new guidelines that emphasize patient-centered communication may create disparities if not implemented with specific attention to equity.

Translating Research into Child Health Policy: Aligning Incentives and Building a New Discourse.

Research has led to major achievements in public policy and child health. Despite the gains, the need for research to inform policy remains paramount against a backdrop of inadequate public health investments, health inequities, and public skepticism toward science. However, the translation of research into child health policy has often been slow due to misalignments in incentives between researchers and policy makers and a paucity of conceptual models to inform translation. This article outlines barriers to translation, provides examples of discordance between evidence and policy, summarizes models to inform translation, and offers strategies to improve translation of research to policy.

Prevalence of and Spending on Ear, Nose, Throat, and Respiratory Infections Among Children With Chronic Complex Conditions.

OBJECTIVE: Ear, nose, throat, and respiratory infections (ENTRI) may affect children with complex chronic conditions (CCC) differently than their peers. We compared ENTRI prevalence and spending in children with and without CCCs. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 3,880,456 children ages 0-to-18 years enrolled in 9 US state Medicaid programs in 2018 contained in the IBM Watson Marketscan Database. Type and number of CCCs were distinguished with Feudtner's system. ENTRI prevalence, defined as ≥1 healthcare encounters for ENTRI, and Medicaid spending on ENTRI were compared by CCC using chi-square tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: ENTRIs were greater in children with vs. without a CCC (57.7% vs 43.5% [P < .001]). Children with a CCC (5.5%, n = 213,425) accounted for nearly one-fourth ($145.8 million [US]) of total spending on ENTRI. Aside from throat and sinus infection, ENTRI prevalence increased with number of CCCs (P < .001). For example, as number of CCCs increased from zero to ≥3, lower-airway infection increased from 12.5% to 37.5%, P < .001 (OR 4.10; 95% CI 3.95-4.26). ENTRI spending attributable to inpatient care increased from 9.7% to 92.8% (P < .001) as the number of CCCs increased from zero to ≥3. CONCLUSION: Most children with a CCC pursued care for ENTRI in 2018 and these children accounted for a disproportionate share of ENTRI spending. Children with multiple CCCs had a high prevalence of lower-airway infection; most of their ENTRI spending was for inpatient care. Providers can use these findings to counsel patients and families and to inform future investigations on how best to manage ENTRI in children with CCCs.

Timing of Mental Health Service Use After a Pediatric Firearm Injury.

OBJECTIVES: To examine how timing of the first outpatient mental health (MH) visit after a pediatric firearm injury varies by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. METHODS: We retrospectively studied children aged 5 to 17 years with a nonfatal firearm injury from 2010 to 2018 using the IBM Watson MarketScan Medicaid database. Logistic regression estimated the odds of MH service use in the 6 months after injury, adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Cox proportional hazard models, stratified by previous MH service use, evaluated variation in timing of the first outpatient MH visit by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: After a firearm injury, 958 of 2613 (36.7%) children used MH services within 6 months; of these, 378 of 958 (39.5%) had no previous MH service use. The adjusted odds of MH service use after injury were higher among children with previous MH service use (adjusted odds ratio, 10.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.45-12.82) and among non-Hispanic white compared with non-Hispanic Black children (adjusted odds ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.02-1.63). The first outpatient MH visit after injury occurred sooner among children with previous MH service use (adjusted hazard ratio, 6.32; 95% CI, 5.45-7.32). For children without previous MH service use, the first MH outpatient visit occurred sooner among children with an MH diagnosis made during the injury encounter (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.72; 95% CI, 2.04-3.65). CONCLUSIONS: More than 3 in 5 children do not receive MH services after firearm injury. Previous engagement with MH services and new detection of MH diagnoses during firearm injury encounters may facilitate timelier connection to MH services after injury.

Assessing the Relationship Between Well-Care Visit and Emergency Department Utilization Among Adolescents and Young Adults.

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between adolescent and young adult (AYA) well-care visits and emergency department (ED) utilization. METHODS: Vermont's all-payer claims data were used to evaluate visits for 49,089 AYAs (aged 12-21 years) with a health-care claim from January 1 through December 31, 2018. We performed multiple logistic regression analyses to determine the association between well-care visits and ED utilization, investigating potential moderating effects of age, insurance type, and medical complexity. RESULTS: Nearly half (49%) of AYAs who engaged with the health-care system did not attend a well-care visit in 2018. AYAs who did not attend a well-care visit had 24% greater odds (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-1.30) of going to the ED at least once in 2018, controlling for age, sex, insurance type, and medical complexity. Older age, female sex, Medicaid insurance, and greater medical complexity independently predicted greater ED utilization in the adjusted model. In stratified analyses, late adolescents and young adults (aged 18-21 years) who did not attend a well-care visit had 47% greater odds (95% CI: 1.37 - 1.58) of ED visits, middle adolescents (aged 15-17 years) had 9% greater odds (95% CI: 1.01-1.18), and early adolescents (aged 12-14 years) had 16% greater odds (95% CI: 1.06 - 1.26). CONCLUSIONS: Not attending well-care visits is associated with greater ED utilization among AYAs engaged in health care. Focus on key quality performance metrics such as well-care visit attendance, especially for 18- to 21-year-olds during their transition to adult health care, may help reduce ED utilization.

Two-Year Utilization and Expenditures for Children After a Firearm Injury.

INTRODUCTION: Firearm injuries are a leading cause of morbidity among children, but data on healthcare utilization and expenditures after injury are limited. This study sought to analyze healthcare encounters and expenditures for 2 years after a nonfatal firearm injury. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between 2020 and 2022 of children aged 0-18 years with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision/ICD-10 diagnosis codes for firearm injury from 2010 to 2016 in the Medicaid MarketScan claims database. Outcomes included the difference in healthcare encounters and expenditures, including mental health. Descriptive statistics characterized patient demographics and healthcare utilization. Changes in health expenditures were evaluated with Wilcoxon sign rank tests. RESULTS: Among 911 children, there were 12,757 total healthcare encounters in the year before the index firearm injury, 15,548 1 encounters in the year after (p<0.001), and 10,228 total encounters in the second year (p<0.001). Concomitantly, there was an overall increase of $14.4 million in health expenditures ($11,415 per patient) 1 year after (p<0.001) and a $0.8 million decrease 2 years after the firearm injury (p=0.001). The children with low previous expenditures (majority of sample) had sustained increases throughout the second year after injury. There was a 31% and 37% absolute decrease in mental health utilization and expenditures, respectively, among children 2 years after the firearm injury. CONCLUSIONS: Children who experience nonfatal firearm injury have an increased number of healthcare encounters and healthcare expenditures in the year after firearm injury, which is not sustained for a second year. Mental health utilization and expenditures remain decreased up to 2 years after a firearm injury. More longitudinal research on the morbidity associated with nonfatal firearm injuries is needed.

Preventing Emergency Department Visits for Children With Medical Complexity Through Ambulatory Care: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Children with medical complexity (CMC) represent a growing population with high emergency department (ED) utilization. How to reduce preventable ED visits is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine what components of ambulatory care programs focused on CMC were most effective in preventing ED visits. DATA SOURCES: PubMed Plus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases through October 2019, and hand search of bibliographies. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Two independent reviewers used a structured screening protocol to include English language articles summarizing studies that included CMC, emergency care, or ED utilization. Data on ED utilization were extracted. RESULTS: Sixteen included studies described outpatient interventions to prevent ED utilization. Of these, studies that included 24/7 access to knowledgeable providers for acute care needs by phone (telehealth) or expedited or next-day appointments were the most consistently successful in reducing ED visits. LIMITATIONS: Risk of bias was mixed across studies. The evidence base is currently small and observational nature of interventions and their evaluations limit definitive, generalizable recommendations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: Current research suggests that real-time access to knowledgeable providers and expedited appointments can prevent ED visits. Further study is needed to generalize these findings as well as investigate novel strategies such as telehealth to improve quality of care, decrease utilization, and provide cost-effective care for this vulnerable population.

Improving Emergency Care for Children With Medical Complexity: Parent and Physicians' Perspectives.

OBJECTIVE: Children with medical complexity (CMC) have high rates of emergency department (ED) utilization, but little evidence exists on the perceptions of parents and pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians about emergency care. We sought to explore parent and PEM physicians' perspectives about 1) ED care for CMC, and 2) how emergency care can be improved. METHODS: We performed semistructured interviews with parents and PEM physicians at a single academic, children's hospital. English-speaking parents were selected utilizing a standard definition of CMC during an ED visit in which their child was admitted to the hospital. All PEM physicians were eligible. We developed separate interview guides utilizing open-ended questions. The trained study team developed and modified a coding tree through an iterative process, double-coded transcripts, monitored inter-rater reliability to ensure adherence, and performed thematic analysis. RESULTS: Twenty interviews of parents of CMC and 16 of PEM physicians were necessary for saturation. Parents identified specific challenges related to ED care of their children involving time, information gathering, logistics/convenience, and multifaceted communication between health teams and parents. PEM physicians identified time, data accessibility and availability, and communication as inter-related challenges in caring for CMC in the ED. Suggestions reflected potential solutions to the challenges identified. CONCLUSIONS: Time, data, and communication challenges were the main focus for both parents and PEM physicians, and suggestions mirrored these challenges. Further research and quality improvement efforts to better characterize and mitigate the identified challenges could be of value for this vulnerable population.

Retracted Nonfatal firearm injuries: Utilization and expenditures for children pre- and postinjury.

Firearm injuries are one of the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality among children. Limited information exists about the impact of nonfatal firearm injuries on utilization and expenditures. Our objective was to compare health care encounters and expenditures 1 year before and 1 year following a nonfatal firearm injury. This was a retrospective cohort study of children 0 to 18 years with ICD-9/ICD-10 diagnosis codes for firearm injury in the emergency department or inpatient setting from 2010 to 2016 in the Medicaid MarketScan claims database. Outcomes included 1) difference in health care encounters for 1 year before and 1 year after injury, 2) difference in health care expenditures, and 3) difference in complex chronic disease status. Descriptive statistics characterized patient demographics and health care utilization. Health expenditures were evaluated with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Among 3,296 children, there were 47,660 health care encounters before the injury and 61,660 after. Concomitantly, there was an overall increase of $18.5 million in health expenditures ($5,612 per patient). There was a 40% increase in children qualifying for complex chronic condition status after firearm injury. Children who experience nonfatal firearm injury have increased number of health care encounters, chronic disease classification, and health care expenditures in the year following the injury. Prevention of firearm injuries in this vulnerable age group may result in considerable reductions in morbidity and health care costs.

Nonfatal firearm injuries: Utilization and expenditures for children pre- and postinjury.

OBJECTIVE: Firearm injuries are one of the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality among children. Limited information exists about the impact of nonfatal firearm injuries on utilization and expenditures. Our objective was to compare health care encounters and expenditures 1 year before and 1 year following a nonfatal firearm injury. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of children 0 to 18 years with ICD-9/ICD-10 diagnosis codes for firearm injury (excluding nonpowder) in the emergency department or inpatient setting from 2010 to 2016 in the Medicaid MarketScan claims database. Outcomes included: (1) difference in health care encounters for 1 year before and 1 year after injury, (2) difference in health care expenditures, and (3) difference in complex chronic disease status. Descriptive statistics characterized patient demographics and health care utilization. Health expenditures were evaluated with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. RESULTS: Among 1,821 children, there were 22,398 health care encounters before the injury and 28,069 after. Concomitantly, there was an overall increase of $16.5 million in health expenditures ($9,084 per patient). There was a 50% increase in children qualifying for complex chronic condition status after firearm injury. CONCLUSIONS: Children who experience nonfatal firearm injury have increased number of health care encounters, chronic disease classification, and health care expenditures in the year following the injury. Prevention of firearm injuries in this vulnerable age group may result in considerable reductions in morbidity and health care costs.