Emergency Department Visits For All-Terrain Vehicle (Atv) Injury Among Us Children

Statement of purpose Increasingly popular, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) continue to injure children disproportionately. This study examines ATV injuries in children who present to emergency departments (ED) in the US. Methods/approach We studied 2009–2011 data from the HCUP Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). The NEDS is the largest, all-payer ED database in the US and is comprised of a 20% stratified sample of hospital-based ED visits from over 950 hospitals in 30 states. NEDS can be used to generate national estimates, with weighted data representing approximately 130 million discharges annually. ATV-related injuries occurring in children Results A total 94,906 ATV-related ED visits were identified, occurring at a rate of 42.5/100,000 annually in children Conclusions Despite a recent decline, ATV-related ED utilisation still accounts for substantial medical charges. These data are consistent with other studies but provide additional data on cost and injury burden.