Injury from falls in infants under one year

Mulligan, Christopher S.; Adams, Susan; Tzioumi, Dimitra; Brown, Julie

doi:10.1111/jpc.13568

Cited by 25 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In line with previous research on head injuries in infants, most neonatal head injuries were caused by falls at home with the predominant mechanism being falls from care giver's arms . Mulligan et al . found that infants <1 year dropped by care givers were three times more likely to be admitted than infants from other fall types.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Neonatal head injuries: A prospective Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative cohort study

Eapen

Borland

Phillips

et al. 2019

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Aim: To characterise the causes, clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes of neonates who presented to paediatric emergency departments with a head injury. Methods: Secondary analysis of a prospective data set of paediatric head injuries at 10 emergency departments in Australia and New Zealand. Patients without neuroimaging were followed up by telephone call. We extracted epidemiological information, clinical findings and outcomes in neonates (≤28 days). Results: Of 20 137 children with head injuries, 93 (0.5%) occurred in neonates. These were mostly fall-related (75.2%), commonly from a care giver's arms, or due to being accidentally struck by a person/object (20.4%). There were three cases of non-accidental head injuries (3.2%). Most neonates were asymptomatic (67.7%) and many had no findings on examination (47.3%). Most neonates had a Glasgow Coma Scale 15 (89.2%) or 14 (7.5%). A total of 15.1% presented with vomiting and 5.4% were abnormally drowsy. None had experienced a loss of consciousness. The most common findings on examination were scalp haematoma (28.0%) and possible palpable skull fracture (6.5%); 8.6% underwent computed tomography brain scan and 4.3% received an ultrasound. Five of eight computed tomography scan (5.4% of neonates overall) showed traumatic brain injury and two of four (2.2% overall) had traumatic brain injury on ultrasound. Thirty-seven percent were admitted, one patient was intubated and none had neurosurgery or died. Conclusions: Neonatal head injuries are rare with a mostly benign short-term outcome and are appropriate for observation. However, nonaccidental injuries need to be considered.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Neonatal head injuries: A prospective Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative cohort study

Eapen

Borland

Phillips

et al. 2019

J Paediatrics Child Health

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“…Our ndings align well with previously reported studies using administrative datasets and medical record reviews. (4,7,21,22) While some factors we have identi ed have been noted previously, (8,(23)(24)(25) this is the rst to provide this level of detail and identify targets for intervention across the spectrum of fall mechanisms among infants of this age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…(3) Falls are the most common injury mechanism for this age group accounting for almost 50% of all injury hospitalisations. 3The head is the most commonly injured body region (4) and often leads to Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Infant Fall Events Using Online Parenting Discussion Forums

Cooray¹,

Sun²,

Adams³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Falls are the most common mechanism of hospitalised injury in children under 12 months and commonly result in traumatic brain injuries. Epidemiological studies exploring infant falls demonstrate the burden but lack the contextual information vital to the development of preventive interventions. The objective of this study was to examine contextual information for falls involving children under 12 months.Methods: Online parenting forums provide an unobtrusive rich data source for collecting detailed information about fall events. Relevant discussions related to fall incidents were identified and downloaded using site-specific google search queries and a programming script. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to analyse the incidents and categorise contextual information into ‘pre-cursor events’ and ‘influencing factors’ for infant falls.Results: 461 infant fall incidents were identified. Common fall mechanisms included: falls from furniture; falls when being carried or supported by someone; falls from baby products and falls on the same level. Across the spectrum of fall mechanisms, common precursor events were: infant rolling off; being alone on furniture; product misuse; caretaker falling asleep while holding the infant; and caretaker tripping/slipping while carrying the infant. Common influencing factors included: infant’s rapid motor development; lapses in caretaker attention; and trip hazards.Conclusions: The findings define targets for intervention to prevent infant falls and suggest the most viable intervention approach may be to target parental behaviour change. Online forums have provided rich information critical for preventive interventions aimed at changing behaviour.

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“…The current study found that falls and road trauma were the most common mechanisms of head injury for children, particularly falls from playgrounds for children aged 6‐10 years and road trauma for children aged 11‐16 years. Falls typically occurred in children aged <1 year, while being carried or supported by other persons, or from furniture, indicating a need for greater awareness of fall injury prevention and safety amongst caregivers . Falls from playground equipment are a common cause of head injury for children .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence and severity of head injury hospitalisations in Australian children over a 10‐year period

Bierbaum

Lystad

Curtis

et al. 2018

Health Prom J of Aust

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Head injury hospitalisations cost the Australian health system close to half a billion dollars over a 10-year period, with the most serious injuries resulting in lifelong health implications. SO WHAT?: Targeted health promotion strategies such as the promotion of helmet wearing during scooter use, the introduction of cycleways, and impact absorbing surfaces on playgrounds, need to be implemented to reduce the occurrence of head injuries in children.

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Injury from falls in infants under one year

Abstract: Fall mechanisms involving infants being dropped by adults, and falls from beds or couches carry the highest clinical burden. These mechanisms should be targets for injury prevention and inform the design of safe equipment and environments for babies.

Cited by 25 publications

References 31 publications

Neonatal head injuries: A prospective Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative cohort study

Neonatal head injuries: A prospective Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative cohort study

Exploring Infant Fall Events Using Online Parenting Discussion Forums

Incidence and severity of head injury hospitalisations in Australian children over a 10‐year period

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