The injury mechanisms and injury pyramids among children and adolescents in Zhuhai City, China

Abstract

Background The unclear mechanisms and severity of injuries in the injury pyramids for Chinese children and adolescents prevent the prioritization of interventions. This study aimed to describe the injury mechanisms and injury pyramids in this population to provide a priority for injury prevention strategies. Methods Death, hospitalization, and outpatient/emergency department visit data from patients aged 0 ~ 17 years with injuries were obtained from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, in Zhuhai City, China. The injury mechanism ratios were calculated, and the injury pyramid ratios were drawn in proportion using injury mortality and the incidence of both injury hospitalizations and outpatient/emergency department injury visits. Results The top three mechanisms for injuries in children and adolescents treated in outpatient/emergency departments were falls (52.02%), animal bites (14.57%), and blunt injuries (10.60%). The top three mechanisms for injury hospitalizations were falls (37.33%), road traffic injuries (17.87%), and fire/burns (14.29%), while the top three mechanisms for injury deaths were drowning (32.91%), road traffic injuries (20.25%) and falls (13.92%). The incidence rate of outpatient/emergency department injury visits for children and adolescents was 11,210.87/100,000; the incidence rate of injury hospitalization was 627.09/100,000, and the injury death rate was 10.70/100,000. For each injury death, there were 59 injury hospitalizations and 1048 outpatient/emergency injury visits. Conclusions The injury mechanisms were different for injury-related outpatient/emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths among children and adolescents. The injury mechanisms by sex at different stages of child development, and interventions should be formulated based on this finding. The ratios of the injury pyramids varied by age, sex, region, and injury mechanisms; minor nonfatal injuries were more common in children and adolescents. The differences in the severity and extent of the injuries suggested that injury interventions in children and adolescents still have a long way to go.

Analysis of clinical characteristics and health resource costs in children hospitalised for injuries in southern Sichuan, China

“…However, the most common types of injuries in our region were falls, burns, road traffic injuries, poisoning, and foreign object injuries. These findings are not entirely consistent with that of domestic and foreign regions (12)(13)(14), which showed that burns and poisonings being less frequent. This variation may be due to our region have many mountainous areas, cold winters, and residents relying on burning charcoal for heat.…”

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hospitalized unintentional injuries among children in central China from 2017–2023

“…A cross-sectional survey from Egypt ( 25 ), a cohort study from Brazil ( 26 ) and a large-scale household survey involving more than one million people from Bangladesh ( 27 ) all indicated that falls were the predominant external cause of unintentional injury ( 13 ). Likewise, studies conducted in northwestern, southern, and Shanghai regions in China corroborated this finding ( 14 , 20 ). The possible reasons for this discrepancy are as follows: First, Central China, especially Henan Province, is a major agricultural province, producing a variety of nuts, which increases the risk of respiratory tract foreign bodies among children.…”

“…However, the occurrence and patterns of unintentional injuries vary significantly across regions and populations, depending on their geographic environment and economic status ( 10 – 12 ). Most of the reports on unintentional injuries in China have focused on the southwestern ( 13 ) and southern regions ( 14 ), while Central China, which had a large population (223 million) by the end of 2017, remains largely understudied. In this study, we conducted a multi-perspective analysis of hospitalized unintentional injury among children aged 0–18 years in Central China, to explore the temporal trends, and to recommend some preventive strategies and measures based on our findings.…”

Characteristics, likelihood and challenges of road traffic injuries in China before COVID-19 and in the postpandemic era

“…This survey mainly referred to men, and elderly individuals in Jiangsu Province were more likely to be involved in RTIs (Ding et al, 2017 ). At the same time, RTIs and drowning were the two major causes of death among teenagers in China (Yin et al, 2021 ).…”