The Enhanced Surveillance Team within the Office of Epidemiology, Division of Surveillance and Investigation conducts surveillance for various events of interest using ESSENCE. The event summaries below outline trends in emergency department and urgent care center visits related to these events.
Chief complaints and discharge diagnoses of ED visits are analyzed by VDH to identify and monitor issues of public health concern across Virginia. The chief complaint is a free-text field that captures the patient’s primary reason for seeking medical care as interpreted by the ED registration staff. The discharge diagnosis is a coded field that uses standardized values outlined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9th and 10th Revision code sets. Readers are strongly encouraged to review syndromic surveillance data limitations when interpreting these reports.
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Gunshot Injury Surveillance - June 2018 - May 2019
In the wake of the Virginia Beach mass shooting, the Enhanced Surveillance team within the Office of Epidemiology, Division of Surveillance and Investigation compiled a summary report for emergency department (ED) visits for gunshot injuries over the previous 12 months (June 2018 - May 2018). At the time of report publication (June 28, 2019) ED visits for gunshot injuries across Virginia had been elevated for 8 consecutive weeks within the syndromic surveillance system ESSENCE. May 2019 had the highest monthly count observed since reporting began in 2015. This report below summarizes gunshot injury visits by sex, age group, race, intent of gunshot injury, and VDH Health District.
Emergency Departments Visits for Gunshot Injuries in Virginia_6.28.19