Severe and traumatic injuries associated with home trampoline use in children and adolescents: A systematic review

Abstract

Trampolining is a popular form of recreation and trampolines are among the most common gifts to school age children and preadolescents. 1 However, trampolining poses a significant risk of injury, which accounts annually for nearly 100,000 pediatric emergency visits in the United States. 2 A recent meta-analysis of 11 studies with 1,386,843 trampoline injuries compared the type and site of injury sustained at trampoline centers and on home trampolines. 3 The study identified that musculoskeletal and/or orthopedic injuries, lower-extremity injury, sprains, or a need for surgery were more likely to result from injuries sustained at trampoline centers rather than on home trampolines. 3 Conversely, upper-extremity injury (odds ratio [OR] 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-4.00), concussion (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.54-2.86), and lacerations (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.69-2.86) were more likely to occur in the home compared to trampoline centers. 3 Previous studies have suggested that serious injuries are more likely to occur at trampoline centers than on home trampolines. [2][3][4][5] More than a decade ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) issued policy statements advising against the recreational use of home trampolines because of the unacceptable risks. 6,7 Since then, trampoline injuries have not decreased, but have almost doubled in the United States. 2 Recent data suggest that most trampoline injuries that occur within the home environment result from improper landing onto or falling off the trampoline. 8 We conducted a systematic literature review to identify existing evidence on severe and traumatic trampoline injuries that occurred in the home environment, by type and site of injury, and treatment outcomes in children and adolescents aged ≤ 18 years. We followed the PRISMA guidelines. 9 A systematic search of the databases MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar, and EMBASE was performed up to August 29, 2022, to identify relevant articles. Our search terms included ((trampoline) AND ((wound and injuries) OR (trauma)) OR (accident) OR (injury)). The reference lists of relevant articles were also searched for appropriate studies. No language or time limits were used in either the search or the study selection. No search for unpublished literature was performed. We included studies that reported severe or traumatic injury associated with trampoline use among children or adolescents. A severe injury was defined as a physical injury that results a significant injury that includes dismemberment, organ damage, physical disfigurement, fractured bones, permanent disabilities, and a limited ability to perform daily activities. Traumatic injury was defined as a physical injury of sudden onset and severity that requires immediate medical attention. Data extraction was performed using a standardized form and included information on the publication year, participant age and gender, study design, country, trampoline activity, symptoms and signs, type and place of injury, and outcome.