Age-related Injury Profile in Childhood

Ahn, Kyung A; Kim, Eun Sook; Lim, Kyung Soo

Abstract

PURPOSE
Injuries are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in the childhood population worldwide. Thus, this study was down to investigate the type and the severity of injuries according to the age group in childhood.
METHODS
A survey of injury information and a chart review were done on 378 children (257 boys, 121 girls) who visited the Emergency Departments of Asan Medical Center from March 1, 2009, to March 31, 2009. To determine differences in injury mechanism, accident place, injury site, New Injury Severity Score (NISS) and Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS), we divided the 378 patients into 4 group: under 1 year, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 9 years, and 10 to 15 years.
RESULTS
The mean (+/-SD) age of the study group was 5.1 (+/-4.4) years. Two year olds formed the largest group of injured children, with 77 cases (20.4% of the total). The most common cause of injury in childhood was being hit by an object (26.2%). Falls were frequent in the under-1-year group (22.2%) and slip downs (30.1%) were more frequent in 1-to-4-year group. More than half (53.4%) of the injuries occurred in the home, and the most common places of home-related injuries were the living room (41.1%) and the bedroom (31.2%). The mean (+/-SD) NISS was 1.5 (+/-1.8), and traffic accidents had the highest NISS (2.8+/-5.1). Injuries occurred most frequently during the evening. The peak period was 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM (33.7%).
CONCLUSION
Patterns of childhood injury by age group were considerably different, and less severe and nonhospitalized injuries were common. Thus, need to improve surveillance of a variety of injuries, promote intersectional collaboration, build institutional capacities and mobilize community support and policy as an investment in prevention.