- Cirks BT, et al. Pediatr Emerg Care. https://bit.ly/4feyV6o.
A study examining body piercing injuries (BPI) in adolescents and young adults treated in emergency departments (EDs) found ear injuries are the most common, but pubic injuries are far more likely to require hospitalization.
Authors sought to fill a data gap noted in the 2017 AAP clinical report Adolescent and Young Adult Tattooing, Piercing, and Scarification. They examined data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2011-’20 to estimate the frequency of BPI in the U.S.
Results showed there were 10,912 BPI among patients under age 24 over the 10-year period, which extrapolates to a weighted estimate of 338,972 injuries at EDs nationwide.
People ages 13-24 accounted for an estimated 56% of injuries, and 85% of those injured were female. Nearly 71% of the injuries involved the ear.
The lower trunk, upper trunk and mouth were found to be piercing locations with significantly higher odds of being infected. Piercings more likely to require hospitalization or transfer were found in the pubic region, upper trunk and face.
“In the context of all piercing-associated injuries, injuries to the pubic region were 16.8 times more likely to require hospitalization compared to BPI of the ear,” authors wrote, but hospitalization or transfer of care was rare.
Authors noted that number of BPI likely is higher since the study did not include data on patients treated at urgent care facilities, primary clinics or at home.
“By targeting specific, at-risk groups, primary care teams could provide patients with personalized, prepiercing counseling, especially for adolescents or young adults seeking oral, nipple, navel, or pubic piercings,” the authors concluded.