Children 22 times more likely to be injured by legal drugs than guns

[Titan6]

Starting a new chapter in the Apples to Oranges comparison it is interesting to point out that doctors are much more likely to cause a child injury through the use of legal drugs than all criminals, accidents and parents with guns (using the gun) combined. Strange how when we assess risk we don't often look where we should.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23982564/

Drug errors hurt 1 in 15 hospitalized kids
New tool detects far more medication mix-ups, overdoses and bad reactions
CHICAGO - Medicine mix-ups, accidental overdoses and bad drug reactions harm roughly one out of 15 hospitalized children, according to the first scientific test of a new detection method.

That number is far higher than earlier estimates and bolsters concerns already heightened by well publicized cases like the accidental drug overdose of actor Dennis Quaid's newborn twins last November.

“These data and the Dennis Quaid episode are telling us that... these kinds of errors and experiencing harm as a result of your health care is much more common than people believe. It's very concerning,” said Dr. Charles Homer of the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality. His group helped develop the detection tool used in the study.

Researchers found a rate of 11 drug-related harmful events for every 100 hospitalized children. That compares with an earlier estimate of two per 100 hospitalized children, based on traditional detection methods. The rate reflects the fact that some children experienced more than one drug treatment mistake.

The new estimate translates to 7.3 percent of hospitalized children, or about 540,000 kids each year, a calculation based on government data. Article continues

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/155/12/1364

Objective To describe the incidence and circumstances of nonfatal firearm-related injuries among children and adolescents treated in US emergency departments.

Design Data were obtained from the Firearm Injury Surveillance Study, 1993-1997; data were collected through medical record review at hospitals participating in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

Setting The hospitals participating in National Electronic Injury Surveillance System are a stratified probability sample of all US hospitals.

Main Outcome Measures Numbers and population rates for nonfatal firearm-related injuries among children and adolescents younger than 20 years old.

Results An estimated 115 131 (95% confidence interval, 76 769-153 493) children and adolescents were treated for a nonfatal gunshot wound during the study period. The estimated annual rates of injury (per 100 000) were 2.0 (children 0-4 years old), 2.2 (children 5-9 years old), 15.4 (children 10-14 years old), and 106.5 (adolescents 15-19 years old). The ratios of nonfatal to fatal firearm-related injuries were 4.0 (children 0-4 years old), 4.4 (children 5-9 years old), 5.0 (children 10-14 years old), and 4.4 (adolescents 15-19 years old). An additional estimated 103 814 children (95% confidence interval, 69 223-138 405) were shot with a nonpowder firearm (BB or pellet gun). Boys 5 to 9 and 10 to 14 years old had the highest rates of injury related to nonpowder firearms, an estimated 36.2 and 99.8 per 100 000, respectively. Fifty-six percent of those 15 to 19 years old were assault victims. An estimated 48% of children and adolescents with powder firearm–related gunshot wounds and an estimated 4% with nonpowder firearm injuries were admitted to the hospital.

Conclusions Nonfatal injuries related to powder firearms and nonpowder firearms (BB or pellet guns) are an important source of injury among US children and adolescents. Ongoing surveillance of nonfatal firearm-related injury among children and adolescents is needed.

I make that at average of 23,000 per year for guns vs. 540,000 per year for the meds.