Baseball-Related Craniofacial Injury Among the Youth: A National Electronic Injury Surveillance System Database Study

Abstract

Background: Baseball is 1 of the most played sports among adolescents in the United States. Yet, youth baseball players experience the greatest numberoforal and facial injuries, compared to other athletes involved in other sports. Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was analyzed for all hospital admissions for youth baseball athletes (5-19year-old) experiencing a baseball-related craniofacial injury. These included concussions, head contusions, head lacerations, facial contusions, facial fractures, facial hematomas, face lacerations, eye contusions, mouth lacerations, dental injuries, and neck contusions. Descriptive statistics were performed, and injury incidence was described by sport, injury type, and age group. Results: Nearly half of the injuries (45.0%) occurred among 10-to 14-year-old patients, followed by 5-to 9-year-olds and 15-to 19-yearolds. Of all age groups, the most common type of injury was facial contusions, compromising one fourth of the injuries. Other frequent injuries included facial lacerations (19.9%), facial fractures (19.7%), and concussions (13.4%). Conclusions: Overall, this analysis underscores the need for increased implementation of protective equipment, such as faceguards and safety balls. Although facial fractures are less common amongst the pediatric population, physicians and coaches need to be better educated about the most frequent injury patterns and management. Further prospective studies are warranted to better characterize these findings and to prevent injuries.

Assessing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on pediatric baseball and basketball-related craniofacial and neck injuries treated in United States emergency departments, 2003–2022

“…Injury prevention and risk reduction are important in pediatric sports. There is a need for protective equipment such as faceguards and safety balls in pediatric sports [ 27 ]. Current baseball rules for youth require batters to wear a batter’s helmet with a double earflap while batting, on deck, and running the bases.…”

Baseball Injury Prevention Through a Community Outreach Initiative

“…In particular, mouthguards decrease the frequency of facial trauma, concussions, fractured teeth, lacerations, and bruising. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Intraoral mouthguards can serve as a buffer by separating soft tissues from the teeth, preventing lacerations, and bruising of lips, cheeks, and tongue during impact. In addition, mouthguards can prevent tooth fractures and dislocations by providing a barrier between the teeth and direct frontal blows, while simultaneously redistributing the force of the blow evenly over the teeth.…”

“…In particular, mouthguards decrease the frequency of facial trauma, concussions, fractured teeth, lacerations, and bruising 2–10 . Intraoral mouthguards can serve as a buffer by separating soft tissues from the teeth, preventing lacerations, and bruising of lips, cheeks, and tongue during impact.…”

Trends in Pediatric Head and Facial Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Pediatric head and facial trauma is often associated with motor vehicle collisions and organized sports,18,19 both of which declined during the early stages of the pandemic 20. In reports from Italy and Brazil, a significant decline in maxillofacial trauma from these etiologies was found 21,22.…”