Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California.
Security Services Department, University of California, San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California.
J Emerg Med. 2023 Dec;65(6):e594-e599. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2023.08.010. Epub 2023 Aug 24.
Violence in the emergency department (ED) setting is well documented in medical literature. Weapons can be used to cause significant injury or mortality, although there is a paucity of literature on weapons and weapons screening in the ED.
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of initiating a weapons screening process on the identification and removal of weapons.
Multiple aspects of a weapons screening program were evaluated at 2 and 6 months prior to and after a weapons screening protocol was initiated at an urban ED. In the Pre-Screen periods, only patients primarily seeking care for mental health were screened prior to entry. In the Post-Screen periods, all patients and visitors were screened with walk-through magnetometers or wand metal detectors, and additional screening checks were initiated. The number of individuals screened and numbers of weapons found were measured. Descriptive statistics comparing Pre- and Post-Screen periods were performed.
Prior to the new screening process, 511 and 1701 patients primarily seeking care for mental health were screened, with 15 and 103 weapons confiscated at 2 and 6 months, respectively. After the screening process was initiated, 13,149 and 43,321 ED patients and visitors were screened, with 194 and 567 weapons confiscated at 2 and 6 months, respectively. Persons screened increased by 25-fold at both 2 and 6 months after implementing the screening process. Weapons confiscated increased approximately 13-fold and sixfold at the respective 2- and 6-month Pre- and Post-Screen periods, respectively.
Implementation of weapons screening significantly increased the number of weapons identified and confiscated prior to entry in the ED by patients and visitors.
在医学文献中，急诊部门（ED）环境中的暴力行为有充分的记录。武器可用于造成严重伤害或死亡，尽管关于 ED 中的武器和武器筛查的文献很少。
本研究的目的是评估启动武器筛查程序对识别和清除武器的影响。
在启动武器筛查协议之前和之后的 2 个月和 6 个月，在城市 ED 中评估了武器筛查计划的多个方面。在预筛查期间，仅对主要寻求心理健康护理的患者进行筛查，然后再进入。在筛查期间，所有患者和访客都使用手持式磁力计或手持金属探测器进行筛查，并启动了额外的筛查检查。测量筛查的人数和发现的武器数量。对筛查前和筛查后的时间段进行了比较。
在新的筛查过程之前，有 511 名和 1701 名主要寻求心理健康护理的患者接受了筛查，分别在第 2 个月和第 6 个月没收了 15 件和 103 件武器。在启动筛查过程后，有 13149 名和 43321 名 ED 患者和访客接受了筛查，分别在第 2 个月和第 6 个月没收了 194 件和 567 件武器。在实施筛查过程后的第 2 个月和第 6 个月，筛查人数分别增加了 25 倍。在各自的 2 个月和 6 个月的筛查前和筛查后期间，没收的武器分别增加了约 13 倍和 6 倍。
实施武器筛查显著增加了进入 ED 的患者和访客携带的武器数量，增加了武器的识别和没收。
