Aim: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many changes in the presenting complaints in paediatric emergency departments (EDs). We sought to characterise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on bicycle-related injuries in children presenting to a tertiary care paediatric ED. Methods: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study of ED visits to a large urban tertiary children's hospital, comparing March to October 2020 (the study period) to the same date range 2 years prior (i.e. March to October 2018-2019). We included children 0-17.99 years presenting for a bicycle-related injury. We compared absolute visit counts of bike injuries per month, demographics, triage acuity, injury type and disposition.Results: A total of 1215 bike-related visits were analysed. There were 234 presentations in 2018 (March to October), 305 in 2019, and 676 in 2020. Overall, the mean age was 9.5 years (standard deviation 5.5-13.5), there were 67% males, median Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale score was 3 (interquartile range 3-4) and the most common injuries were fractures (n = 471, 38.8%). There were significantly more bike injuries presenting to the ED per month in the COVID group, 33.7(17.9) versus 84.5(61.4) (two-tailed P value = 0.041). There was no statistical difference in 'severe injuries' pre-versus post-COVID (odds ratio 0.815 (95% confidence interval 0.611-1.088), P = 0.165). Conclusion: There was a significant increase in bicycle-related injuries presenting to our ED during the pandemic, compared to previous years. Evaluating these trends will allow for the exploration of harm reduction strategies for preventing future bicycle-related injuries.

Objectives The purpose of this study is to describe the impact of the pandemic on poisoning in children under 18 years presenting to a tertiary care paediatric emergency department (ED) in Canada. Methods We utilized the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) surveillance data to identify children presenting to the Hospital for Sick Children for poisonings during two time periods: pre-pandemic (March 11 to December 31, 2018 and 2019) and pandemic (March 11 to December 31, 2020). Primary outcomes investigated the change in proportion for total poisonings, unintentional poisonings, recreational drug use, and intentional self-harm exposures over total ED visits. Secondarily, we examined the change in proportion of poisonings between age, sex, substance type, and admission requirement pre-pandemic versus during pandemic. Results The proportions significantly increased for total poisonings (122.5%), unintentional poisonings (127.8%), recreational drug use (160%), and intentional self-harm poisonings (104.2%) over total ED visits. The proportions over all poisoning cases also significantly increased for cannabis (44.3%), vaping (134.6%), other recreational drugs (54.5%), multi-substance use (29.3%), and admissions due to poisonings (44.3%) during the pandemic. Conclusion Despite an overall decrease in ED visits, there was a significant increase in poisoning presentations to our ED during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic years. Our results will provide better insight into care delivery and public health interventions for paediatric poisonings.

Our study demonstrates a rising incidence of dental injuries in young patients. Most dental injuries occurred during sports and playground related activities. The low rate of use of safety equipment and playground safety measures suggests that Canadian Standards Association standards for playgrounds could be more effective if strengthened by mandatory legislation.