Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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ED injury surveillance requires accurate information about mechanism. This study explored the clinometric properties of an E-code system specifically designed to track ED injuries. ⋯ Injury coding using a truncated E-code system can provide valid and reliable data from the ED. Differences between nurses, physicians, and nosologists in the ability to accurately code using this system were minimal, thus eliminating the need for additional staff and resources.
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To determine the availability of and sample statewide ED injury information obtained from hospital billing data for the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of information acquisition for subsequent data linkage. ⋯ Retrospective compilation of multihospital ED billing data to create a statewide ED data sample-with the potential for injury research and probabilistic database linkage-can be accomplished; there are, however, important limitations.
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To identify patterns of nonfatal and fatal penetrating trauma among children and adults in New Mexico using ED and medical examiner data. ⋯ Nonfatal injury data suggest that nonfatal violence has increased; fatal injury data suggest that violent death rates have remained constant. Injury patterns vary by age, mechanism of trauma, and data source. These results suggest that ED and medical examiner data differ and that both are needed to guide injury prevention programs.
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1) To determine the prevalence of current alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence (AA/AD) among the full injury range of ED motor vehicle crash (MVC) patients; and 2) compare AA/AD and non-AA/AD patient characteristics. ⋯ Almost 23% of ED MVC patients have current AA/AD; BAC testing does not accurately identify these patients. Intervention strategies must be directed to both admitted and released patients.