Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Retracted Publication
Non-fatal firearm injuries: Utilization and expenditures for children pre- and post-injury.
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. ⋯ 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.
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A better understanding of the factors affecting client engagement in hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs), and which types of client needs prove most challenging to achieve, may be of key importance in developing novel, targeted strategies to violence intervention. In this study, we examined the demographics and injury characteristics of violently injured patients by their level of engagement with the Boston Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP) and determined the degree of client goal achievement through VIAP client services. ⋯ This study demonstrates that VIAP is effectively engaging the client population that HVIPs have been designed to support. HVIPs should consider novel strategies to engage vulnerable populations not typically targeted by intervention programs. These results speak to the difficulties of program attrition and the complexities of altering the life course for victims of violence.
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Review Meta Analysis
Comparison of the Loop Technique with Incision and Drainage for Skin and Soft Tissue Abscesses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Cutaneous abscesses are common presentations to the emergency department. While the primary treatment for most abscesses is conventional incision and drainage (CID), this is painful and can lead to multiple return visits. The loop drainage technique (LDT) has been proposed as an alternate, less-invasive approach to abscess management. The primary outcome of this study was to compare LDT with CID for skin and soft tissue abscesses. ⋯ The LDT was associated with reduced treatment failures when compared with CID. Future studies should further assess the impact on pain, cosmetic outcomes, and health care costs.