Study Tallies ER Trips for School Assaults

Assaults on children at school lead to about 88,000 emergency room visits each year, a new study estimates. Very few of the assaults involved guns or required a hospital stay. About 40% of the injuries were bruises and scratches. The study was based on a survey of 66 hospitals. It covered the years 2001 through 2008. Researchers estimated nationwide totals based on this limited sample. An estimated 7 million ER trips occurred during those years because of injuries in schools. About 92,000 visits each year resulted from deliberate injuries. Nearly all (96%) were assaults rather than self-injury. Middle-school kids, non-whites and boys were more likely than others to be assaulted at school. Researchers called for better prevention strategies. Injuries that occurred outside of school were more likely to be severe. About 3% involved guns, compared with 0.08% of injuries at school.