University Hospital has been invited to join a national study under the aegis of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to collect data on emergency department visits caused by product-related injuries.
The Hospital is one of 96 hospitals nationwide that participate in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS).
“University Hospital was chosen not only because it is the home of the highly regarded New Jersey Trauma Center, a busy Level 1 center serving a densely populated area,” explains Bob Lavery, Manager of the Trauma Registry, “But also because of our ongoing interest in injury prevention.”
As an NEISS hospital, UH will collect and report on specific variables pertaining to a product-related injury. This serves as a valuable research tool that can help identify public health problems associated with such injuries. It also provides a wealth of information that can be used to determine product recalls or modifications.
The primary goal of this important national public health initiative is to produce safer products. When data revealed an alarming incidence of children under five poisoned when they confused baby aspirin with candy, regulations were put in place to reduce the number of pills per bottle. When hospitals reported a growing number of young teens injured in ATV accidents, legislation raised the legal age to 16 to operate one.
Anita Puran, assistant Trauma Registry Coordinator, described a recent trauma center patient. A two-year-old riding a tricycle ran into a chest of drawers that toppled over on the child along with the television that had been sitting on top. “Our first job was to attend to the injuries. But then, because of this program, we asked questions to get information about the tricycle, the chest and the TV,” she added. “Perhaps one of them was a contributing factor in the accident.”
The UH team recently completed two days of training with experts from the NEISS. They expect ultimately to collect data from 7,000 to 8,500 patients each year to contribute to the national database.
A grant from the Consumer Product Safety Commission will cover much of the additional operational cost.