Weapon carriage among major trauma victims in the emergency department.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the occurrence of weapon carriage by major trauma patients at a university/county hospital ED.


METHODS
Retrospective observational study of major trauma patients seen in the ED of a major urban trauma center in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1993. All major trauma patients were searched routinely for weapons by the security police. Cases of violence in the ED caused by these weapons were reviewed.


RESULTS
Over the 14-year period, 26.7% of the victims of major trauma presenting to ED were armed with lethal weapons. The occurrence of automatic weapon seizure increased significantly from an annual rate of only 0.2 in the first five years to an average of 17 over the last five years (p < 0.001). A total of 115 "incidents" of violence involving weapons in the ED were recorded during this period; 1.7% of the weapons brought to the ED led to violence and injury. There were four fatalities of armed and dangerous patients, but only six minor injuries to the staff. No other (unarmed) patient in the ED at the time of these incidents was injured.


CONCLUSIONS
ED major trauma patients at one urban trauma center in Los Angeles frequently carry weapons, including automatic military weapons. In addition to violence prevention measures such as weapon confiscation, plans must be made and practiced for the management of violence within the "sacrosanct" hospital doors to protect both patients and ED personnel.
Ordog
G J
GJ
King/Drew-UCLA Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Los Angeles 90059, USA.
Wasserberger
J
J
Ordog
C
C
Ackroyd
G
G
Atluri
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005389:Firearms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*