Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Recent attention has been paid to the role trauma centers play in responding to mass shootings. Although high-profile public events are the primary focus of media and policy makers, firearm-injured patients (FIPs) present in clusters to urban trauma centers every day. We examined the burden of FIP clusters from an urban trauma system perspective. ⋯ In the trauma system studied, FIP clusters are common and are likely to occur at similar rates in other urban centers. Therefore, the immediate burden on health care resources caused by multiple FIPs presenting within a short period of time is not limited to traditionally defined mass shootings.