Characteristics of Pediatric Trauma in an Urban City in Japan

Abstract

To clarify the characteristics of recent pediatric injuries in an urban city in Japan. Any patient who was under 13 years old and admitted for treatment of trauma between January 2000 and December 2007 was retrospectively investigated. The subjects were divided into 2 groups, the head injury (HI) and the control groups. The HI group had an abbreviated injury score (AIS) of the head greater than 1, and the control group had an AIS of the head equal to 0 or 1. The number of patients in the HI group was 95; and in the control group, 74. There were no penetrating injuries. The proportion of patients who were run over in the HI group was smaller than that in the control group. The injury severity score in the HI group was greater than that in the control group. The abdominal AIS in the HI group was smaller than that in the control group. The number of extracranial injuries (sum of all AIS except for the head) in the HI group was smaller than that in the control group. The survival rate in the HI group was smaller than that in the control group. All causes of death in the HI group were cerebral complications. The severity and outcome of pediatric blunt traumas were dependent on HI. Because the extracranial injuries with an HI were not severe, the successful treatment of the cerebral complications could lead to favorable outcome.