Epidemiology of pediatric trauma in the Kingdom of Bahrain: a national pediatric trauma registry pilot study

Abstract

Background A pediatric trauma registry for the Kingdom of Bahrain would be a novel public health tool for the Bahraini health system. The aim of this study was to explore the epidemiology of pediatric trauma at the national level by describing the distribution of pediatric injury in the Kingdom, and quantifying the burden of injury shouldered by the study population. Methods This multicenter observational cross-sectional study was conducted in Bahrain using data from the Pediatric Trauma Registry (PTR), which was a short-term paper-based prospective trauma registry that collected data over a three-month period in 2018. PTR was based in the pediatric emergency departments (ED) of the three national referral hospitals in the Kingdom. By simultaneously collecting data from all three trauma hospitals in the country, it was assumed that during the data collection period all major pediatric trauma patients in the country would be captured by the study, and that the data collected would provide national estimates of trauma. Inclusion criteria for the study was any individual under the age of 14, that arrived at the ED seeking care for intentional and unintentional injuries. Results A total of 1328 patients were included in the study. Sixty-nine percent of patients were treated and discharged from the ED, 30.5% were admitted to the hospital, admitted for surgery, or seen by a specialist, and 0.5% were declared deceased. The percentage of patients documented as unrestrained during Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVC) was 92.3%, and amongst those involved in MVC, 12% were ejected from the cabin of the vehicle. Conclusions There are significant implications that this study holds for policy implementation and practice surrounding injury prevention in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Low seatbelt utilization and the high proportion of ejection amongst MVC victims warrant immediate public health policy implementation, including enforcement of seat belt laws, strengthening of the traffic court system, and awareness campaigns for MVC prevention. Additionally, pediatric drowning prevention programs centered on constant adult supervision, pool isolation fencing, personal flotation devices, and swimming education should be created to address the mortality attributable to drowning in this study.

Assessment of Circulatory Management in Pediatric Polytrauma According to International Guidelines in Suez Canal University Hospital

“…Males formed about 60.7% of the pediatric patients in the current study which comes in accordance with much of the literature (12)(13)(14)(15) . The overrepresentation of males among trauma patients perhaps because boys are more inclined to play in hazardous environments without adult supervision.…”

“…The smallest proportion was for the teenagers (11-13 years) forming only 27.4% of total patients. Similarly, Liu et al (12) conducted a national pediatric trauma registry pilot study in Bahrain and reported the age groups (1-4 years) and (5-9 years) represented the most foremost ones representing 34% and 33%, respectively of the whole sample. A similar experience was discovered in research on trauma scores and the value they have in predicting the prognosis of pediatric polytrauma.…”

Drowning in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a systematic literature review of the epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention

“… Align to WHO recommended interventions and Strategies? (Y/N) Beach safety assessment Jordan [ 90 ] Secondary P Administrative N – N Child Supervision Bahrain [ 30 ] Saudi Arabia [ 32 ] Primary P Administrative N – Y- Provide safe places away from water for pre-school children, with capable child care Tunisia [ 97 ] Primary P Administrative Y Education CPR and First Aid Bahrain [ 85 ] Tertiary P Administrative Y Maritime Y - Train bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation Iran [ 40 ] Tertiary E b Administrative Y Health Jordan [ 90 ] Tertiary I Administrative Y Health Saudi Arabia [ 60 , 32 ] Tertiary P Administrative Y Health Saudi Arabia [ 66 ] Tertiary E # Administrative Y Health Developing a national water safety strategy Bahrain [ 84 ] Primary P Administrative N – Y – Develop a national water safety plan Lifeguard supervision Bahrain [ 85 ] …”

“…Included studies were published between 1975 [29] and 2021 [30][31][32]. Studies most commonly reported data on drowning from Iran (27 studies ), Saudia Arabia (11 studies [31,32,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]) and Pakistan (10 studies [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78]).…”

“…The majority (15 factors including low Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score) were identified as factors which increased risk of both fatal or non-fatal drowning with poor outcomes (such as severe neurological disease or brain death). Commonly identified risk factors included being male [31,40,42,51,55,58,94], young age [30,31,58], submersion time [60,63] and resident status (both tourists and local residents) [59]. There were several factors identified in the literature as being protective for drowning outcome.…”