U.S. Emergency Department Injury Visits by Sex, Age, and Cause

Data on initial injury-related visits to U.S. hospital emergency departments, categorized by patient sex, age, and the intent and mechanism of injury. The data is sourced from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and includes revised estimates for 2017–2018. A coding standard change in 2015 prevents direct comparison of data from 2017 onward with earlier years.

Use Cases

• Analyze injury mechanism frequency (e.g., Accidental Falls) across different age groups to identify high-risk populations.
• Compare injury intent categories (e.g., unintentional vs. assault) by patient sex to study patterns in emergency care utilization.
• Examine trends in emergency department visits for specific injury types (e.g., Wounds) before and after the 2015 ICD coding transition, noting the incomparability warning.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from the authoritative National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS).
• Includes revised estimates for the 2017–2018 period to correct prior errors.
• Covers multiple analytical dimensions including sex, age, intent, and mechanism of injury.

Limitations

• Data from 2017 onward is not comparable to earlier years due to a change in medical coding standards (ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM).
• Data for the year 2016 is not included in the dataset.
• The exact number of records (rows) and variables (columns) is not specified in the provided input.

Provenance

Source

United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Collection Method

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS).

Time Range

Covers years up to and including 2017–2018, with more recent years noted but not specified. Data for 2016 is excluded.

Freshness

The dataset record was last updated on 2026-02-23.

Geography

United States.