Evaluation of Firearm-Related Reinjury in Connecticut: An Opportunity for Gun Violence Prevention.

Abstract

The regional extent of the risk of repeat firearm-related injury (FRI) and homicide mortality for victims of firearm injury in Connecticut is unknown. In this study, we evaluate the risk of repeat firearm injury in survivors of firearm violence in Connecticut. Using medical record data from the Yale New Haven Health (YNHH) system and data from the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, we conducted a cohort study of patients with an FRI in 2014 to determine their risk of a repeat firearm injury or mortality from homicide in the ensuing 5years compared with nonviolence-related trauma patient controls. We identified 94 patients with an FRI in the YNHH system from 2014 who survived to discharge. Of these patients, 8.5% (8 of 94) had a repeat FRI and 2% (2 of 94) died from homicide within the next 5years. Compared with nonviolence-related trauma patients from 2014 (n=2001), those with an FRI had 12 times the odds of a repeat firearm injury (odds ratio: 12.0, P=0.047) in the next 5years after adjustment for relevant covariates. Of the patients presenting with an initial FRI in the YNHH system, one in twelve will experience another firearm injury within the next 5years. These data indicate that firearm-related reinjury is common in Connecticut and suggest the need for further violence prevention efforts.