Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics

The Korean Pediatric Society (대한소아청소년과학회)
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Analysis of causes of injuries among children in Daegu, Korea

  • Ha, Geol (Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University) ;
  • Jeon, Man-Joong (Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University) ;
  • SaKong, Joon (Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University)
  • Received : 2010.06.04
  • Accepted : 2010.08.04
  • Published : 2010.11.15
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Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanisms and exact causes of injuries to children by analyzing the medical records of children who visited emergency medical centers. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 7,114 pediatric patients (aged below 15 years) who visited the emergency care center (ECC) of a Yeungnam university hospital in Daegu between January 2007 and December 2009. Results: Among the pediatric patients who visited the ECC, 1,526 (27.2%) were admitted for injuries (boys, 979 [64.2%] and girls, 547 [35.8%]); the boy-to-girl ratio in this study population was 1.8:1. The proportion of boys was higher than that of girls over all age ranges, except for children aged less than 1 year. The highest incidence of injury due to slipping (20.5%) was noted in the 1-year-old group, and nearly half the total number of cases (49.3%) involved children who were under 4 years of age. Of the sites of injury, 999 involved the head and face (73.7%) and 134 involved the hand and wrist (9.9%). Seventy-one injuries (5.7%) occurred on the bed, 70 (5.6%) at the door, and 67 (5.3%) on the stairs. Of the approximately 250 types of injuries classified by cause, 17 accounted for 50.4% of all the injuries. Conclusion: The cause of injury could be attributed to approximately 20 causes in more than half the cases of pediatric injuries. A classification of the types of injuries and the development of appropriate preventive strategies can help avoid such injuries.

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