Targeting pediatric pedestrian injury prevention efforts: teasing the information through spatial analysis

Race, racism, and antiracism in emergency medicine: A scoping review of the literature and research agenda for the future

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to conduct a scoping review of the literature and develop consensus-derived research priorities for future research inquiry in an effort to (1) identify and summarize existing research related to race, racism, and antiracism in emergency medicine (EM) and adjacent fields and (2) set the agenda for EM research in these topic areas.

METHODS

A scoping review of the literature using PubMed and EMBASE databases, as well as review of citations from included articles, formed the basis for discussions with community stakeholders, who in turn helped to inform and shape the discussion and recommendations of participants in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) consensus conference. Through electronic surveys and two virtual meetings held in April 2021, consensus was reached on terminology, language, and priority research questions, which were rated on importance or impact (highest, medium, lower) and feasibility or ease of answering (easiest, moderate, difficult).

RESULTS

A total of 344 articles were identified through the literature search, of which 187 met inclusion criteria; an additional 34 were identified through citation review. Findings of racial inequities in EM and related fields were grouped in 28 topic areas, from which emerged 44 key research questions. A dearth of evidence for interventions to address manifestations of racism in EM was noted throughout.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence of racism in EM emerged in nearly every facet of our literature. Key research priorities identified through consensus processes provide a roadmap for addressing and eliminating racism and other systems of oppression in EM.

Urban versus rural setting as a predictor of injury type and severity among pediatric pedestrians: using a database derived from state-wide crash data and hospital discharge data in Illinois

We obtained and linked data from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Hospital Discharge Data System 2008 - 2015. We evaluated differences in demographic characteristics, injury severity and type among cases and examined associations among injury type, severity, and crash location. There were 11,303 injured pedestrians under 19 years of age and 46% matched to hospital data. Demographic characteristics were similar to unlinked cases. Among linked cases, fractures, traumatic brain injury, open wound or amputation, and internal organ injuries occurred more often in rural areas (p < 0.001), as were more severe injuries (p < 0.001). Mild injury and soft tissue injuries occurred more often in urban areas (p < 0.001). These data can inform targeted interventions for injury reduction. Preliminary investigations found that more severe injuries and specific injury types are more likely to occur in rural versus urban settings. Our combined database approach may be extended to other databases.

Geospatial relationship of trauma and violent crime: An analysis of violent crime and trauma center utilization

Introduction

Descriptive epidemiologic and geographic analysis utilizing geographic information science (GIS) has been used to determine the utilization of trauma systems and to spatially describe patterns of trauma and crime. We examined the relationship between spatial components of criminality and injuries in order to evaluate the optimal trauma center location and determine a correlation between reported violent crime and trauma center utilization.

Methods

All adult trauma and violent crime (VC) encounters in a defined area over a single year were included. Geospatial statistics pattern analysis tools of Median Center (MC) and the Average Nearest Neighbor analysis (ANNa) were used to determine if mapped points occurred in complete spatial randomness or were clustered in a significant pattern.

Results

ANNa of VC resulted in a z-score of –20.54 and a p-value of <0.001, indicating a <1% likelihood that violent crimes were distributed randomly. Further ANNa yielded a zscore of –5.67 and p-value of <0.001 for injuries. Our trauma center is 1.45 miles from the MC of VC and 2.28 miles from the MC for injuries. Spatial autocorrelation failed to demonstrate a direct relationship between criminality and trauma center utilization with a z-score of 0.030 and p-value of 0.98.

Conclusion

While not statistically significant, the spatial trends of violent crime and trauma center utilization demonstrated a clear pattern. GIS is a powerful tool for the trauma director, and examination of the local regional patterns of trauma should be undertaken by health systems to assist with optimizing outreach, expansion, and response times.

Multiple-scale spatial analysis of paediatric, pedestrian road traffic injuries in a major city in North-Eastern Iran 2015-2019

Background

Paediatric, pedestrian road traffic injuries (PPRTIs) constitute a major cause of premature death in Iran. Identification of high-risk areas would be the primary step in designing policy intervention for PPRTI reduction because environmental factors play a significant role in these events. The present study aims to determine high-risk areas for PPRTIs at three different geographical scales, including the grid network, the urban neighbourhood and the street levels in Mashhad, Iran during the period 2015–2019.

Methods

This cross-sectional retrospective study was based on all pedestrian accidents with motor vehicles involving children (less than 18 years of age) between March 2015 and March 2019 in the city of Mashhad, which is the second-most populous city in Iran. The Anselin Local Moran’s I statistic and Getis-Ord Gi* were performed to measure spatial autocorrelation and hotspots of PPRTIs at the geographical grid network and neighbourhood level. Furthermore, a spatial buffer analysis was used to classify the streets according to their PPRTI rate.

Results

A total of 7390 PPRTIs (2364 females and 4974 males) were noted during the study period. The children’s mean age was 9.7 ± 5.1 years. Out of the total PPRTIs, 43% occurred on or at the sides of the streets, 25 of which labelled high-risk streets. A high-high cluster of PPRTI was discovered in the eastern part of the city, while there was a low-low such cluster in the West. Additionally, in the western part of the city, older children were more likely to become injured, while in the north-eastern and south-eastern parts, younger children were more often the victims.

Conclusions

Spatial analysis of PPRTIs in an urban area was carried out at three different geographical scales: the grid network, the neighbourhood and the street level. The resulting documentation contributes reliable support for the implementation and prioritization of preventive strategies, such as improvement of the high-risk streets and neighbourhoods of the city that should lead to decreasing numbers of PPRTIs.

Efficacy of venous access placement at a pre-hospital scene in severe paediatric trauma patients: a retrospective cohort study

Purpose: Aside from severe traumatic brain injury, uncontrolled bleeding and corresponding haemorrhage shock are the leading causes of traumatic deaths. No established recommendations exist about venous access placement for severely injured, bleeding children at a pre-hospital scene. This study sought to evaluate the association between pre-hospital venous access placement and mortality in a paediatric trauma population by analysing the Japan Trauma Data Bank (JTDB). Methods: This epidemiologic study compared the outcomes of severe traumatic paediatric patients with or without venous access placement at a pre-hospital scene. Data were obtained from JTDB from 2004 to 2015. Results: Of 4,109 patients who met our inclusion criteria, 144 patients received venous access placement and 3,965 patients did not. The probability of survival was lower in the venous access group than in the no access group (0.90 [0.67–0.97] vs. 0.97 [0.90–0.99], p < 0.01). After multivariable logistic analysis, venous access placement did not improve survival to hospital discharge (odds ratio = 1.40, confidence interval = 0.32–6.15, p = 0.653). Conclusions: The probability of survival was lower in the venous access group than in the no access group. Survival outcome at discharge was not affected by venous access placement at a pre-hospital scene.

Descriptive Correlates of Urban Pediatric Violent Injury Using Emergency Medical Service Patient-Level Data

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to describe spatiotemporal correlates of pediatric violent injury in an urban community.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort study using patient-level data (2009-2011) from a novel emergency medical service computerized entry system for violent injury resulting in an ambulance dispatch among children aged 0 to 16 years. Assault location and patient residence location were cleaned and geocoded at a success rate of 98%. Distances from the assault location to both home and nearest school were calculated. Time and day of injury were used to evaluate temporal trends. Data from the event points were analyzed to locate injury "hotspots."

RESULTS

Seventy-six percent of events occurred within 2 blocks of the patient's home. Clusters of violent injury correlated with areas with high adult crime and areas with multiple schools. More than half of the events occurred between 3:00 PM and 11:00 PM. During these peak hours, Sundays had significantly fewer events.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric violent injuries occurred in identifiable geographic and temporal patterns. This has implications for injury prevention programming to prioritize highest-risk areas.

The spatial epidemiology of pediatric trauma: A statewide assessment

BACKGROUND

Despite significant advances in the prevention and treatment of pediatric trauma, preventable injuries continue to burden the lives of millions of children. To target prevention strategies, it is critical to identify areas with high burdens of pediatric trauma. Therefore, this study analyzed statewide data from the Ohio Trauma Registry from 2007 to 2012 to identify geographical patterns in pediatric injury.

METHODS

Data from the first hospital of care for 16,330 pediatric trauma patients younger than 16 years were analyzed using the disease mapping method adaptive spatial filtering to estimate a series of maps that display age- and sex-adjusted rates of pediatric trauma, severe trauma, and standardized mortality ratios while controlling for population size to create stable estimates throughout the study area. The locations of all trauma centers were mapped to highlight access to trauma care.

RESULTS

Areas with significantly higher than expected rates of severe injury were identified in nonurban areas, where children lacked timely access to a pediatric trauma center or Level I adult trauma center. Although highest standardized mortality ratios were in urban areas, nonurban areas experienced elevated mortality with rates over four times higher than expected.

CONCLUSION

Areas with higher than expected age- and sex-adjusted rates of severe injury and mortality should be further explored to identify opportunities for injury prevention and appropriate access to timely care.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Epidemiologic study, level III.

Spatial distribution of child pedestrian injuries along census tract boundaries: Implications for identifying area-based correlates

Census tracts are often used to investigate area-based correlates of a variety of health outcomes. This approach has been shown to be valuable in understanding the ways that health is shaped by place and to design appropriate interventions that account for community-level processes. Following this line of inquiry, it is common in the study of pedestrian injuries to aggregate the point level locations of these injuries to the census tracts in which they occur. Such aggregation enables investigation of the relationships between a range of socioeconomic variables and areas of notably high or low incidence. This study reports on the spatial distribution of child pedestrian injuries in a mid-sized U.S. city over a three-year period. Utilizing a combination of geospatial approaches, Near Analysis, Kernel Density Estimation, and Local Moran’s I, enables identification, visualization, and quantification of close proximity between incidents and tract boundaries. Specifically, results reveal that nearly half of the 100 incidents occur within roads that are also census tract boundaries. Results also uncover incidents that occur on tract boundaries, not merely near them. This geographic pattern raises the question of the utility of associating area-based census data from any one tract to the injuries occurring in these border zones. Furthermore, using a standard spatial join technique in a Geographic Information System (GIS), these points located on the border are counted as falling into census tracts on both sides of the boundary, which introduces uncertainty in any subsequent analysis. Therefore, two additional approaches of aggregating points to polygons were tested in this study. Results differ with each approach, but without any alert of such differences to the GIS user. This finding raises a fundamental concern about techniques through which points are aggregated to polygons in any study using point level incidents and their surrounding census tract socioeconomic data to understand health and place. This study concludes with a suggested protocol to test for this source of uncertainty in analysis and an approach that may remove it.

An overview of geospatial methods used in unintentional injury epidemiology

Background

Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Injury incidence is often associated with socio-economic and physical environmental factors. The application of geospatial methods has been recognised as important to gain greater understanding of the complex nature of injury and the associated diverse range of geographically-diverse risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of geospatial methods applied in unintentional injury epidemiological studies.

Methods

Nine electronic databases were searched for papers published in 2000–2015, inclusive. Included were papers reporting unintentional injuries using geospatial methods for one or more categories of spatial epidemiological methods (mapping; clustering/cluster detection; and ecological analysis). Results describe the included injury cause categories, types of data and details relating to the applied geospatial methods.

Results

From over 6,000 articles, 67 studies met all inclusion criteria. The major categories of injury data reported with geospatial methods were road traffic (n = 36), falls (n = 11), burns (n = 9), drowning (n = 4), and others (n = 7). Grouped by categories, mapping was the most frequently used method, with 62 (93%) studies applying this approach independently or in conjunction with other geospatial methods. Clustering/cluster detection methods were less common, applied in 27 (40%) studies. Three studies (4%) applied spatial regression methods (one study using a conditional autoregressive model and two studies using geographically weighted regression) to examine the relationship between injury incidence (drowning, road deaths) with aggregated data in relation to explanatory factors (socio-economic and environmental).

Conclusion

The number of studies using geospatial methods to investigate unintentional injuries has increased over recent years. While the majority of studies have focused on road traffic injuries, other injury cause categories, particularly falls and burns, have also demonstrated the application of these methods. Geospatial investigations of injury have largely been limited to mapping of data to visualise spatial structures. Use of more sophisticated approaches will help to understand a broader range of spatial risk factors, which remain under-explored when using traditional epidemiological approaches.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40621-016-0097-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Geospatial Analysis of Pediatric EMS Run Density and Endotracheal Intubation

Introduction

The association between geographic factors, including transport distance, and pediatric emergency medical services (EMS) run clustering on out-of-hospital pediatric endotracheal intubation is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine if endotracheal intubation procedures are more likely to occur at greater distances from the hospital and near clusters of pediatric calls.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study including all EMS runs for patients less than 18 years of age from 2008 to 2014 in a geographically large and diverse Oregon county that includes densely populated urban areas near Portland and remote rural areas. We geocoded scene addresses using the automated address locator created in the cloud-based mapping platform ArcGIS, supplemented with manual address geocoding for remaining cases. We then use the Getis-Ord Gi spatial statistic feature in ArcGIS to map statistically significant spatial clusters (hot spots) of pediatric EMS runs throughout the county. We then superimposed all intubation procedures performed during the study period on maps of pediatric EMS-run hot spots, pediatric population density, fire stations, and hospitals. We also performed multivariable logistic regression to determine if distance traveled to the hospital was associated with intubation after controlling for several confounding variables.

Results

We identified a total of 7,797 pediatric EMS runs during the study period and 38 endotracheal intubations. In univariate analysis we found that patients who were intubated were similar to those who were not in gender and whether or not they were transported to a children’s hospital. Intubated patients tended to be transported shorter distances and were older than non-intubated patients. Increased distance from the hospital was associated with reduced odds of intubation after controlling for age, sex, scene location, and trauma system entry status in a multivariate logistic regression. The locations of intubations were superimposed on hot spots of all pediatric EMS runs. This map demonstrates that most of the intubations occurred within areas where pediatric EMS calls were highly clustered. By mapping the intubation procedures and pediatric population density, we found that intubation procedures were not clustered in a similar distribution to the pediatric population in the county.

Conclusion

In this geographically diverse county the location of intubation procedures was similar to the clustering of pediatric EMS calls, and increased distance from the hospital was associated with reduced odds of intubation after controlling for several potential confounding variables.

Breaking Out of Surveillance Silos: Integrative Geospatial Data Collection for Child Injury Risk and Active School Transport

The preponderance of active school transport (AST) and child injury research has occurred independently, yet they are inherently related. This is particularly true in urban areas where the environmental context of AST may pose risks to safety. However, it can be difficult to make these connections due to the often segregated nature in which these veins of research operate. Spatial video presents a geospatial approach for simultaneous data collection related to both issues. This article reports on a multi-sector pilot project among researchers, a children's hospital, and a police department, using spatial video to map child AST behaviors; a geographic information system (GIS) is used to analyze these data in the environmental context of child pedestrian injury and community violence.

Mortality in severely injured children: experiences of a German level 1 trauma center (2002 - 2011)

Background

Trauma in pediatric patients is a major cause of death. This study investigated differences between decedents and survivors. Furthermore, an analysis of preventable and potential preventable trauma deaths was conducted and errors in the acute trauma care were investigated.

Methods

All patients aged less than 16 years with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 upon primary admission to the hospital between July 2002 and December 2011 were included in this study. Decedents were compared with survivors and an analysis of deceased children for preventable and potential preventable deaths was conducted. The acute trauma care was investigated regarding errors in treatment.

Results

Significant differences were found in Glasgow Coma Scale, Injury Severity Score, Revised Trauma Score, New ISS, Revised Injury Severity Classification, and Trauma and Injury Severity Score. Decedents had a worse head trauma with associated coagulopathy. The overall mortality rate was 13.4%. The majority of death occurred soon after arrival. No long term intensive care unit stay was found.

No preventable but one potential preventable death was analyzed. Most errors occurred in fluid volume management and in a delay of starting the therapy for hemorrhage and coagulopathy.

Prolonged preclinical rescue time and surgery time within the first 24 hours was found.

Conclusions

Head trauma is the determinant factor for mortality in severely injured pediatric patients. Death occurred shortly after arrival and long term intensive care stays might be an exception. In treatment of severely injured children volume management, hemorrhage and coagulopathy management, rescue time, and total surgery time should receive more attention.

Child pedestrian injury and fatality in a developing country

PURPOSE

Child pedestrian injuries and fatalities in developing countries continue to increase. We examined child pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the most populated urban agglomeration in Africa in order to develop control measures.

METHODS

Two-year prospective study of injured child pedestrians (≤15 years) at the Surgical Emergency Room (SER) to determine demography, vehicles involved, road location, injury mechanism, pre-hospital transport, injury-arrival time, regions injured, injury severity and fatalities was done.

RESULTS

Some 226 pedestrians (114 boys and 112 girls) comprising 42 children aged ≤4 years, 91 aged 5-9 years and 93 aged 10-15 years were seen with car collisions (83 pedestrians, 36.7%), motorcycles (76, 33.6%), buses (41, 18.1%), others (15, 6.6%) and 11 undetermined vehicles. Injuries on the highways were 147 (65%); inner-city roads 77 (34.1%) and two undetermined roads. Crossing the road was responsible for 168 (74.3%) pedestrian injuries; while three other mechanisms produced 58 (25.7%) patients. Regions injured were head (42.9%), lower limbs (35.4%) and others (21.7%). Relatives, bystanders and police/ambulance brought 186 (82.3%), 31 (13.7%) and eight (3.5%) children, respectively; and within 6 h (43.4, 11.5 and 2.2%) and after (38.9, 2.2 and 1.3%). Nineteen deaths (10 brought-in-dead, nine SER deaths) occurred; 15 of them girls, 15 had severe head injury, 15 were brought by relatives. However, fatality risks were truck collisions (OR 5.97), female child (OR 4.25), head injury (OR 4.18) and age ≤4 years (OR 3.7).

CONCLUSION

The equal sex incidence, worse female fatality despite similar exposure and injury severity with male, deserve further research. Improved pre-hospital and SER care is needed.

A comprehensive approach to pediatric injury prevention in the emergency department

Injury is the leading cause of pediatric mortality and long-term disability. Although the primary care setting has traditionally been considered as the main venue to address injury anticipatory guidance, an emergency department (ED) visit may serve as a "teachable moment" because most injured children are cared for in this setting and the experience may elicit a greater chance of behavior change. However, EDs can also provide additional information and services beyond counseling to prevent injuries. These adjunct efforts and activities focus on primary injury prevention (screening for and promoting safe behaviors and collecting data to survey high-risk community locations), secondary prevention (use of safety products to mitigate injury), and tertiary prevention (maximizing injury care and minimizing injury sequelae). This review will describe several ways an ED can help to mitigate the epidemic of pediatric injuries through surveillance, screening, education, product disbursement, community engagement, and quality improvement efforts.

Year in review 2012: Critical Care--Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and trauma

In 2012 Critical Care published many articles pertaining to the resuscitation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and trauma. In this review, we summarize several of these articles, including those regarding advances in resuscitation techniques and methods. We examine articles pertaining to prehospital endotracheal intubation, the use of specialized devices for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and policies regarding transport destinations for both cardiac arrest and trauma patients. Articles on the predictors of outcome in both pediatric and adult populations are evaluated, including articles on the effects of obesity on survival from hemorrhage and pediatric outcomes from traumatic cardiac arrest. The effects of the type and volume of resuscitation fluids for both adult and pediatric patients are discussed, as are the factors contributing to hypothermia in trauma patients.

Influence of prehospital volume replacement on outcome in polytraumatized children

Introduction

Severe bleeding after trauma frequently results in poor outcomes in children. Prehospital fluid replacement therapy is regarded as an important primary treatment option. Our study aimed, through a retrospective analysis of matched pairs, to assess the influence of prehospital fluid replacement therapy on the post-traumatic course of severely injured children.

Methods

The data for 67,782 patients from the TraumaRegister DGU^® of the German Trauma Society were analyzed. The following inclusion criteria were applied: injury severity score ≥16 points, primary admission, age 1 to 15 years old, systolic blood pressure ≥20 mmHg at the accident site and transfusion of at least one unit of packed red blood cells (pRBC) in the emergency trauma room prior to intensive care admission. As volume replacement therapy depends on age and body weight, especially in children, three subgroups were formed according to the mean value of the administered prehospital volume. The children were matched and enrolled into two groups according to the following criteria: intubation at the accident site (yes/no), Abbreviated Injury Scale (four body regions), accident year, systolic blood pressure and age group.

Results

A total of 31 patients in each group met the inclusion criteria. An increase in volume replacement was associated with an elevated need for a transfusion (≥10 pRBC: low volume, 9.7%; high volume, 25.8%; P = 0.18) and a reduction in the ability to coagulate (prothrombin time ratio: low volume, 58.7%; high volume, 55.6%; P = 0.23; prothrombin time: low volume, 42.2 seconds; high volume, 50.1 seconds; P = 0.38). With increasing volume, the mortality (low volume, 19.4%; high volume, 25.8%; P = 0.75) and multiple organ failure rates (group 1, 36.7%; group 2, 41.4%; P = 0.79) increased. With increased volume, the rescue time also increased (low volume, 62 minutes; high volume, 71.5 minutes; P = 0.21).

Conclusion

For the first time, a tendency was shown that excessive prehospital fluid replacement in children leads to a worse clinical course with higher mortality and that excessive fluid replacement has a negative influence on the ability to coagulate.