Escalators, Rubber Clogs, and Severe Foot Injuries in Children

Abstract

Level IV, Case Series.

Escalator‐related injuries in 30 dogs (2007–2014)

“…In 1 case series of 3 children whose hands became trapped in the side of an escalator, 2 suffered fractures of the third metacarpal, and all had damage to the extensor tendon of the middle finger . Fracture of the proximal phalanx of the first digit secondary to entrapment of the foot has also been described in a 2‐year‐old child . In this study, fractures were identified in 16.7% of patients, and all of these fractures were phalangeal.…”

“…Some training groups require all of their dogs to wear protective footwear on the hind feet, as in their experience the hind paws are the most likely to become injured, b which is consistent with the findings in the present study. In people, certain types of shoes, in particular rubber clogs, have been implicated in the risk of entrapment while riding the escalator, and may potentially be associated with more severe injuries . There is currently no evidence for or against the use of protective footwear for dogs riding the escalator, and none of the dogs in this study were noted to be wearing footwear at the time of injury.…”

“…The types of escalator‐related injuries seen in both dogs and people are varied. Injury types described in people include soft tissue injuries (including abrasions, contusions, and crushing injuries), fractures, dislocations, lacerations (including amputation and avulsion injuries), and closed head injury . As previously discussed, the injuries seen in dogs may be more similar to those seen in children than in adults.…”

“…Two main mechanisms of escalator-related injury in people have been described: falls and entrapment of body parts, loose clothing, or shoes. 2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In a recent Swiss study by Schminke et al, 4 evaluating escalator injuries in 173 human patients over the age of 16, the majority of the injuries occurred due to falls (77%). This study did not describe whether any of the remaining injuries were secondary to entrapment.…”

“…Injury types described in people include soft tissue injuries (including abrasions, contusions, and crushing injuries), fractures, dislocations, lacerations (including amputation and avulsion injuries), and closed head injury. 2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] As previously discussed, the injuries seen in dogs may be more similar to those seen in children than in adults. McGeehan et al found that lacerations accounted for 47.7% of injuries in children, contusions or abrasions accounted for 24.4%, and fractures or dislocations accounted for 8.1%.…”