Are there seasonal patterns for emergency department visits for head injuries in the USA? Findings from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Inj Prev
• Personal Author:
  Daugherty, Jill ; Yuan, Keming ; Sarmiento, Kelly ; Law, Royal
• Description:
  Introduction
  
  Previous international research suggests that the incidence of head injuries may follow seasonal patterns. However, there is limited information about how the numbers and rates of head injuries, particularly sports- and recreation-related head injuries, among adults and children evaluated in the emergency department (ED) vary by month in the USA. This information would provide the opportunity for tailored prevention strategies.
  
  Methods
  
  We analysed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program from 2016 to 2019 to examine both monthly variation of ED visit numbers and rates for head injuries overall and those due to sports and recreation.
  
  Results
  
  The highest number of head injuries evaluated in the ED occurred in October while the lowest number occurred in February. Among males, children ages 0–4 years were responsible for the highest rates of head injury-related ED visits each year, while in females the highest rates were seen in both children ages 0–4 and adults ages 65 and older. The highest number of head injuries evaluated in the ED due to sports and recreation were seen in September and October. Head injury-related ED visits due to sports and recreation were much more common in individuals ages 5–17 than any other age group.
  
  Conclusion
  
  This study showed that head injury-related ED visits for all mechanisms of injury, as well as those due to sports- and recreation-related activities, followed predictable patterns—peaking in the fall months. Public health professionals may use study findings to improve prevention efforts and to optimise the diagnosis and management of traumatic brain injury and other head injuries.
  
  
• Keywords:
  Adult Athletic Injuries Brain Injuries, Traumatic Child Electronics Emergency Room Visits Emergency Service, Hospital Female Humans Male Seasons United States

  More +
• Source:
  Inj Prev. 30(1):46-52
• Pubmed ID:
  37802643
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10844889
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:47bf07fa71904a3fd71c4ef7b406645b2c3031ef7cb67450ae546ac8583765c43e31ce53526045bb5bf46d755fbcbf31cd1a69914f1f2f2c3a41d36a8244e89e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/147742/cdc_147742_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 860.83 KB ]