Epidemiology and Patterns of Trauma in Children

Background: Since trauma is the leading cause of death, hospitalization, and disability among children under 15, this study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and patterns of trauma in children. Methods: All trauma patients under 15 years of age who were hospitalized for trauma from 1999 to 2011 were enrolled in this cross- sectional study. After obtaining informed consent, demographic information, locations of the events, seasons of occurrence, times of arrival at the hospital, the transfer methods of the patients, types of trauma, anatomical locations of the trauma, hospitalization durations, and distances and times of the accidents before getting to a hospital were collected on a checklist. Then, SPSS software version 20 with a chi-squared test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The study population consisted of 1,686 children with trauma injuries, 71.9% of whom were male, and 28.1% of whom were female. There was a significant correlation between age, sex, and duration of hospitalization among those patients presenting with certain mechanisms of trauma. The most injuries, with 620 (63.8%) cases, were reported in the lower extremities. After examining the relationships between the ages of the injured patients and the location of the upper extremities, multiple traumas, and abdominal injuries, significant correlations were found. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggested that boys over 10 years of age were more susceptible to trauma and falling and other accidents are the most important causes of trauma identified among the children. The upper and lower extremities were also the most affected areas.