Weapons possession by patients in a university emergency department.
OBJECTIVE
Violence in the emergency department, a not uncommon but complex phenomenon, may become more serious when patients possess weapons. Searches are used frequently to reduce this danger, though guidelines for searches are not well delineated. We examined our practices in order to formalize our guidelines.


METHODS
Retrospective chart review of patients found to be carrying weapons.


METHODS
General, university-based emergency department in the Northwest.


METHODS
Of 39,000 patients seen during the 20-month study period, 500 (1.3%) were searched.


RESULTS
Of all patients seen in the ED, 92% were medical patients (153, 0.4% of whom were searched) and 8% were psychiatric patients (347, 11.1% of whom were searched). Weapons were found on 89 patients (0.2% of all ED patients and 17.8% of all patients searched). Review showed that 24 (15.7%) medical and 60 (17.3%) psychiatric patients carried weapons.


CONCLUSIONS
Although various factors contributed to a clear bias toward searching psychiatric patients, we believe that the rate of weapons possession did not support this bias.
Goetz
R R
RR
Psychiatric Emergency Services, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201.
Bloom
J D
JD
Chenell
S L
SL
Moorhead
J C
JC
D000328:Adult; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies