Clinical Analysis on Accident of Children

Shin, Kyung Sik; Byun, Sang Hyun; Rhee, Kwang Joo; Kim, Suk Ja; Chung, Young Hun

Abstract

There has been a significant decline of infectious disease in childhood due to an improvement of economy, living standard and medicine. But accidents in childhood is rather increased and encountered in major cause of death. The child is not so fully developed mentally and physically, that he is vulnerable to accident. Most accidents have been rocognized as being preventable with a few attention of parents or neighours. Therefore, parental health education should be emphasized as one of the important preventive measures against accidents. The authors reviewed the records on 1,648 accidental pediatric patients in the emergency room of CNUH during 6 years period from Jan. 1976. To Dec. 1981. The results were as follow: 1. The frequency of pediatric accidental patient in emergency room was gradually increased year by year and the monthly distribytion revealed a slightly higher in summer season from May to August. 2. According to the patient's residency, the urban to rural ratio was 1.6:1 and the male to female ratio was 1.9:1. 3. The most common physical accident was traffic accident(25.3%), the second being fall down accident(17.3%), then in decreasing order foreign body aspiration or inoculation(14.8%), burn(13.6%), laceration(12.6%), and bite(5.1%), The most common injury site of body by physical accident was head(56.5%) and next in decreasing order trunk & abdomen(18.1%), left leg(15.3%), right leg(13.9%), left arm(12.4%) and right arm(10.5%). 4. The frequency of chemical accident in decreasing order as follow ; CO poisoning(31.5%), rodenticidal drug poisoning(11.7%), insecticidal drug poisoning(9.1%), organic phosphorus poisoning(9.1%) and DDS poisoning(4.2%). 5. Majority of cases were carried to emergency room within 6 hours after accident. 6. The prevalent age for physical accident were between 3-6 years(28.6%) and 6-12 years(28.7%). 7. The prevalent age for chemical accident were between 1-3 years(30.5%). Comparing period of 1979-1981 with period of 1976-1978, the results were concluded as follow ; 1.Frequency of accidents was remarkably increased with predominant male and urban children. 2. Frequency of traffic accident, bite, head trauma, rodenticidal, insecticidal and organic phosphorus poisoning were decreased while those of fall down, foreign body aspiration, burn, laceration, and CO poisoning rather increased. 3. Patients were carried to hospital more rapidly in cases of physical accidents. 4. Age prevalent for physical accidents was to by younger while for chemical accidents being older. 5. Physical accidents were markedly increased, while chemical accidents being minimally changed.