TORONTO - A new study shows that injuries from guns and knives account for more than 40,000 trauma visits to Ontario emergency rooms each year.
That figure represents 3.4 per cent of the 1.2 million annual emergency room visits for trauma in the province.
The study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Services found that knives or sharp objects account for the vast majority -- 98 per cent -- of trauma visits.
Lead author Dr. Alison Macpherson says understanding the factors behind such injuries is an important step in developing prevention strategies.
The study tracked patients who went to Ontario emergency rooms for injuries related to a gun, knife or sharp object between April 1, 2002, and March 31, 2003.
During that period, 26 people died in hospital from knife wounds, compared to 30 deaths by guns.
