Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Sep 1;41(9):e124-e128.
doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000003426. Epub 2025 Jun 4.

Epidemiology, Intent, and Severity of Nonpowder Firearm Injuries in Patients Presenting to Pediatric Emergency Departments

Lauren M Ameden  1 , Elizabeth R Alpern  2 , Monika K Goyal  3 , Lawrence J Cook  4 , Katie A Donnelly  3 ; with the FACTS Consortium and the PECARN Registry Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Epidemiology, Intent, and Severity of Nonpowder Firearm Injuries in Patients Presenting to Pediatric Emergency Departments

Lauren M Ameden et al. Pediatr Emerg Care. .

Abstract

Objective: To describe the epidemiology, intent, and severity of nonpowder firearm injuries in pediatric emergency department (ED) visits.

Methods: This was a review of visits by patients 0 to 17 years old who presented to EDs within the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Registry with a potential nonpowder firearm injury between 2012 and 2019. Visits were identified by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, with review of discrete and narrative data, including demographics, affected body region, intent of injury, age of the person inflicting the injury, interventions in the ED, and disposition.

Results: Eight hundred three potential ED visits for nonpowder firearm injuries were identified, with 774 meeting inclusion criteria. The average age of the patient injured was 11.7 years, and most were male (86.7%). Common body parts injured were the eye (34.0%), upper extremity (19.9%), and face (14.7%). In total, 14.6% of injuries were reported as assaultive, and 60.6% were reported as accidental. The shooter was identified as a child or adolescent in 66.5% and an adult in 2.8% of narratives. In the ED, 74.2% of patients had imaging studies obtained, 73.0% had sub-specialists consulted, and 23.9% had procedures performed. 1 in 5 injuries resulted in either admission (11.7%), emergent operative treatment (6.9%), or death (0.1%).

Conclusions: Nonpowder firearms remain a source of preventable injuries in children and involve substantial health care resources. Most commonly, these injuries are inflicted by children and are accidental, though assaults also account for at least 1 in 7 injuries. These data emphasize the need for further injury prevention efforts directed at nonpowder firearms.

Keywords: assault; injury prevention; nonpowder firearms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Perrin EM, Skinner AC, Sanders LM, et al. The injury prevention program to reduce early childhood injuries: a cluster randomized trial. Pediatrics. 2024;153:e2023062966.
    1. Goldstick JE, Cunningham RM, Carter PM. Current causes of death in children and adolescents in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2022;386:1955–1956.
    1. Laraque D. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. Injury risk of nonpowder guns. Pediatrics. 2004;114:1357–1361.
    1. Lee LK, Fleegler EW, Goyal MK, et al. Firearm-related injuries and deaths in children and youth. Pediatrics. 2022;150:e2022060071.
    1. Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Non-powder & Toy Guns. Giffords Law Center Web site. Accessed January 14, 2025. https://giffords.org/lawcenter/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safe...

LinkOut - more resources