Outcomes of Hospitalized Injured Suspects Sustaining Gunshot Wounds From Law Enforcement Action

Abstract

Background: Although firearms are implicated in the majority of law enforcement intervention (LEI)-related deaths, scientific research is lacking. The present study sought to characterize clinical and financial outcomes between injured suspects and other gunshot wound (GSW) patients. Study Design: The 2016-2020 National Inpatient Sample was queried for patients ≥16 years old admitted following GSW. Patients were categorized as injured suspects (ISs) if they were injured in LEI and non-IS otherwise. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality with complications, hospitalization duration (LOS), and costs secondarily considered. Multivariable regression models were used to adjust for patient characteristics, injury burden using the Trauma Mortality Prediction Model (TMPM), and hospital factors. Results: Of 143,125 hospitalizations, 1575 (1.10%) were IS. Compared to non-IS, ISs were less frequently Black (24.4% vs 54.3%) but had a higher proportion of psychiatric conditions (19.4% vs 6.4%) (P