2018 to 2020 Saw Rise in Firearm Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 25, 2024 -- Firearm injury-related emergency department visit rates increased from 2018 to 2020, then decreased through 2023, according to research published in the Nov. 21 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Kristin M. Holland, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined mean monthly counts of firearm injury-related emergency department visits by year during 2018 to 2023 using data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program.
The researchers identified 338,390 emergency department visits involving a firearm injury during 2018 to 2023, for an average annual rate of 81.2 per 100,000 visits. There was variation observed in the mean monthly counts of firearm injury-related emergency department visits, from 3,754.4 to 5,559.0 in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Firearm injury-related emergency department visit rates increased significantly from 2018 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2020 (visit ratios, 1.04 and 1.75, respectively). Since their peak in 2020, there was a significant decrease seen in firearm injury-related visit rates year over year (visit ratios, 0.82, 0.87, and 0.92 from 2020 to 2021, 2021 to 2022, and 2022 to 2023, respectively), but they have not returned to the 2019 mean monthly rate of 64.3 per 100,000 visits. During 2018 to 2020, visit rates increased among both females and males, then decreased yearly thereafter, with the greatest decreases seen during 2021 to 2022 among males aged 65 years and older and 25 to 34 years (−34.3 and −14.6 percent, respectively) and among females aged 65 years and older and 0 to 14 years (−24.0 and −14.1 percent, respectively).
"Although firearm injury-related emergency department visit rates decreased during 2021 to 2023, they remain high," the authors write. "The prevalences of firearm injury and associated death suggest the need for continued monitoring and a comprehensive prevention approach."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...
Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...
Many Heart Failure Patients Do Not See a Cardiologist Annually
THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- About 40 percent of patients with heart failure diagnosis do not see a cardiologist annually, according to a study published online May 18 in the...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.