Advised follow-up after emergency treatment of adolescents with violence-related injuries

Objective: To compare the rate of advised medical follow-up for adolescents with violence-related, nonsuicidal injuries versus other complaints. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Pediatric emergency department (ED). Patients: All visits by adolescents, aged 13 to 18 years, during a one-week period from each season during 1992. Main outcome measures/results: Advised medical follow-up for patients sustaining violence-related injuries versus other complaints were compared. Four hundred twenty-six visits were reviewed; 351(82%) resulted in discharge from the ED. Sixty-eight (16%) were classified as violence-related, nonsuicidal. Male adolescents were more likely to sustain violence-related injuries (66% vs 34%, P < 0.01). There were no differences in admission rate or having a primary care provider (PCP) between the violence-related injury group and the group with other complaints. Adolescents with other complaints were twice as likely to have follow-up advised. Presence of PCP and older age were also positively associated with advised follow-up. Conclusion: Adolescents sustaining violence-related injuries were less likely to have follow-up advised at the time of their ED visit than were adolescents presenting with other complaints. Violently injured adolescents, at risk for recurrent violent injuries and psychosocial sequelae, were less likely to have follow-up advised at the time of their ED visit than were adolescents presenting with other complaints.