Emergency department consultations associated with unintentional injuries: A cases series

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyse the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children who are attended in Emergency Departments (EDs) for an unintentional injury in Spain. MethodsMulticentre case series with prospective data collection conducted during 12 months in the ED of 11 hospitals belonging to the Spanish Paediatric Emergency Research Group. Data were collected between September 2014 and January 2015, continuing for one year in all paediatric EDs, and included children between 0 and 16 years old seen for an unintentional injury. ResultsA total of 10,175 episodes were recorded during the study, of which 1941 were due to unintentional injuries (19.1%, 95% CI: 18.3%–19.8%), and 1673 of these were included in the study. Falling, direct injuries, and injuries due to sports activities represented more than 80%, with significant variations in the injuries mechanism observed in different age groups. More than occurred at home or school. About 40% of the unintentional injuries were not witnessed by an adult. The most frequent diagnosis was limb trauma (63.0%), with a fracture being observed in 242 (14.4% of unintentional injuries). As regards fractures, 34 (2.0%) were admitted to hospital, with 21 (61.8%) for surgical reduction of the fracture. No deaths were recorded in the first 24h. ConclusionsUnintentional injuries constitute a very common reason for consultation in EDs in Spain. The circumstances surrounding the unintentional injuries should be considered, in order to develop preventive measures and to improve the training of people involved in the care of these children.