Planning for Pediatric Laceration Repairs

Abstract

Primary care providers can manage the majority of pediatric lacerations presenting to a primary care setting. To facilitate planning for the care of children with lacerations, this article describes the children and lacerations who presented to an HMO pediatric urgent care setting. Most children were young, with a mean age of 6.4 years for girls and 7.4 years for boys. Most lacerations were small wounds requiring zero to five sutures. Forty-nine percent were on the face, and 97% of the wounds were repaired by primary care providers. The following issues are discussed: techniques for assessing and repairing simple facial lacerations, suggestions for helping parents and for facilitating cooperative behavior in children, how to care for an uncooperative child, criteria for referring a child to a specialist, and institutional policies that facilitate quality care for children with lacerations.