• Claire Frith, Daniel Edgcumbe, and Catriona McDougall.
• Emergency Department, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK. Adrian.Boyle@addenbrookes.nhs.uk
• Emerg Med J. 2010 Mar 1;27(3):203-6.

ObjectiveTo identify what clinical variables are associated with repeat attendances at the emergency department (ED) in patients who have experienced domestic assault.MethodsA medical records-based cohort study was conducted in a single ED in Cambridge, UK.Participants294 adult patients with disclosed domestic assault presenting between 2001 and 2004 were followed up by examining their medical records until 2004.Main Outcome MeasuresRe-presentation at the ED with disclosed domestic assault.Results45 patients re-presented at the ED with further domestic assault. Repeated assault was more likely in patients in whom no clear diagnosis was made (odds ratio (OR) 4.6 95%, CI 1.4 to 14.5; p<0.001), who had head injuries (OR 4.08, 95% CI 1.94 to 8.59; p<0.001), injuries to the upper limb (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.73; p=0.05), or who had a psychiatric diagnosis (OR 3.43, 95% CI 1.34 to 8.76; p=0.1).ConclusionsThere are readily measurable clinical features that are associated with repeat ED attendance as a result of domestic assault.

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