Incidence and circumstances of pediatric fall-related injuries: Which fall variables matter?

Baalmann, Michelle; Lu, Kelsey; Ablah, Elizabeth; Lightwine, Kelly; Haan, James M.

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.02.030

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…From a geographical perspective, we observed a trend with higher fall rates in the more densely populated areas, although we did not find a statistically significant association between the two. This observation points towards the directions past studies have indicated [ 24 , 25 , 27 ]. A potential explanation for the increased frequencies in city centres may be the sheer number of residents occupying small flats with poor air conditioning and cooling conditions there, as opposed to suburban areas and the countryside that are primarily covered by low, detached houses with gardens.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…This is a particularly concerning observation especially considering that temperatures in the UK are expected to rise at a rapid rate because of global warming, and people would be experiencing prolonged heatwaves as was the case in the summer of 2022 [ 31 ]. Our findings highlight a seasonal prevalence of falls in the summer, and the potential for further rise in incidence of such falls in the future in the UK [ 24 , 25 , 32 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…As anticipated, a large amount of studies point to that the height of fall is positively correlated with injury severity, i.e. the higher the window a patient fell from, the higher their recorded ISS score would be [ 5 , 24 , 25 ]. Other studies propose that there are no such associations and that even falls from small heights can cause severe traumatic brain injury in children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The present study aims at enhancing this knowledge and points to directions that future record taking protocols should consider. To do so, we reviewed information about the cases that described the most important factors, according to literature, that result in severe brain trauma caused by falls from windows [ 24 , 25 ]. Among these factors, we first identified children demographics (age, gender and ethnicity); past studies have investigated the associations of these characteristics with the occurrence of falls from windows and severity of injuries on a global scale [ 8 , 22 , 24 , 26 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To do so, we reviewed information about the cases that described the most important factors, according to literature, that result in severe brain trauma caused by falls from windows [ 24 , 25 ]. Among these factors, we first identified children demographics (age, gender and ethnicity); past studies have investigated the associations of these characteristics with the occurrence of falls from windows and severity of injuries on a global scale [ 8 , 22 , 24 , 26 ]. Although we did not find any significant correlations that point towards the predictive power of these factors for the frequency and severity of incidents, we observed an age-related prevalence with children younger than 6 years old being most affected and this is in keeping with evidence in the literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Secure windows for child safety: a retrospective study of window falls in children, aiming to raise prevention awareness

et al. 2023

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Purpose The aim of the study is to enhance understanding, raise awareness and inform prevention programmes regarding potential factors that lead to severe paediatric injuries caused by unintentional falls from windows. Methods This is a retrospective review from a major Trauma Centre, covering the majority of North West England and North Wales and included children under the age of 16 that had sustained falls from windows and were hospitalised between April 2015 and June 2020. Results Overall, 825 patients’ records have been reviewed, 39% of which exhibited neurosurgical injuries (322 admissions). The most common cause of injury was falls (42%), out of which 19% was identified as falls from windows which was eventually the core focus of this review (25 patients). The records showed that 72% of the falls were not witnessed by another individual, suggesting that children were being left unattended. Average GCS recorded at presentation was 11.2 and 56% of cases were identified as severe major traumas. With a mean stay of 2.2 days in ICU, 1.6 days in HDU and 6 days in the neurosurgical clinic, average treatment costs per patient were £4,493, £651 and £4,156 respectively. Finally, 52% of patients were identified to require long-term physiotherapy/occupational therapy due to permanent disabilities, 20% long-term antiepileptic treatment for seizures and 44% long-term psychological services input. Conclusion This study presents our experience at a major tertiary trauma centre in the UK over a 5-year period, from a paediatric neurosurgical injuries perspective due to fall from windows. We aim to raise awareness and highlight the importance of establishing prevention programmes which would hopefully decrease the incidence of paediatric window falls.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%