Pediatric Unintentional Injuries in North of Iran

Objective: Since the beginning of the 21st century, injury has been the most serious public health problem that children face with. The aim of this study was epidemiologic evaluation of unintentional injury in north of Iran.
Methods: In a prospective cross-sectional study between September 2005–July 2006 we studied data of 347 trauma patients aged 14 years and younger, including sex, age, trauma mechanism, transportation facility, anatomical sites of injury, severity of head injury according to GCS (Severe: 3-8, Moderate: 9-12, Mild: 13-15), injury severity score (ISS), and length of hospital stay (LOHS). SPSS 13 and independent t-test were used to analyze of data.
Findings: Out of 3605 trauma patients, 353 were 14 years old or younger with a mean age (SD) of 7.6 (4.0); Male to female ratio about 2:1. Most of them (42.9%) were 1-5 years old. In patients younger than 1 year, falling was the most common (52.2%) mechanism of trauma while in other groups, traffic accidents were the leading cause of injury. About half of the patients were transported to hospital by their families or other people. About 77% of them suffered from head injury. Mean (SD) ISS was 4.3 (6.6), about 12% had severe injury and it was more than 25 in about 3%. Mean (SD) LOHS was 5.1 (8.9) days.
Conclusion: Occurrence of falling and traffic accidents in children is remarkably high. Mainly traffic accidents are preventable. We suggest paying more attention to safety education in all levels of community.

Keywords
Injury Severity Score; Car accident; Falling; Children; Trauma; Epidemiology