What types of unintentional injuries kill our children? Do infants die of the same types of injuries? A systematic review

Abstract

The objective of this study was to review mortality from external causes (accidental injury) in children and adolescents in systematically selected journals. This was a systematic review of the literature on mortality from accidental injury in children and adolescents. We searched the PubMed, Latin-American and Caribbean Health Sciences and Excerpta Medica databases for articles published between July of 2001 and June of 2011. National data from official agencies, retrieved by manual searches, were also reviewed. We reviewed 15 journal articles, the 2011 edition of a National Safety Council publication and 2010 statistical data from the Brazilian National Ministry of Health Mortality Database. Most published data were related to high-income countries. Mortality from accidental injury was highest among children less than 1 year of age. Accidental threats to breathing (non-drowning threats) constituted the leading cause of death among this age group in the published articles. Across the pediatric age group in the surveyed studies, traffic accidents were the leading cause of death, followed by accidental drowning and submersion. Traffic accidents constitute the leading external cause of accidental death among children in the countries under study. However, infants were vulnerable to external causes, particularly to accidental non-drowning threats to breathing, and this age group had the highest mortality rates for external causes. Actions to reduce such events are suggested. Further studies investigating the occurrence of accidental deaths in low-income countries are needed to improve the understanding of these preventable events.

Injury-related Pediatric Mortality in Shiraz, Iran: A Community-based Survey

“…In addition, in the first Iranian national burden of disease study in 2003, the second -greatest disability -adjusted life year rate in children younger than 4 years was attributed to injuries (9). Considering different causes of injuries, traffic accident is the most common cause of pediatric injury -related deaths in Iran (8,10).…”

Accidents Encountered in Playgrounds, the Causes and Solutions

“…Bu rapor, kanıta dayalı önleme girişimlerini teşvik ederek çocukların gü-venliğini korumak ve çok sektörlü yatırımları sür-dürmek için uyarı niteliğindedir. 7,13,14 Ülkemizde de düşme, trafik kazaları ve yanıklar ilk üç sırada görülen yaralanmalardır. 11 Gündem Çocuk Derneği, Çocuk Hakları Merkezi'nin 2014 Raporu'nda yaklaşık 700 çocuğun, hastalık dışı önlenebilir nedenlerden dolayı yaşamını yitirdiği bildirilmiş-tir.…”

Child mortality: preventing future child deaths and optimizing family support

“…Death due to intentional self-harm increased significantly, and assault and events of undetermined intent remained constant. Researchers in other high-income countries observe the same trends [91,92,95]. For almost all external causes, boys from 15 to 19 years are most commonly involved, with the exception of accidental falls and drowning which occur mainly among 0-4-year olds.…”

“…'Accidental' or 'unintentional' deaths account for nearly 90 per cent of all external causes of mortality. The highest rates of unintentional injury occur in low-and middle-income countries [91,92]. In European countries the highest child mortality rates from external causes are found in Eastern Europe and the lowest in Western Europe.…”

“…Worldwide, injuries are the leading cause of death among children aged 10-19 years [91][92][93][94]. Each year approximately 950 000 children under 18 years of age die as a result of injury or violence.…”