Citation

Shah CC, Ramakrishnaiah RH, Bhutta ST, Parnell-Beasley DN, Greenberg BS. Pediatr. Radiol. 2009; 39(7): 677-684.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatric Radiology, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR, USA, shahchetanc@uams.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00247-009-1213-x

PMID

19308368

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Injuries related to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use by children have increased in recent years, and the pattern of these injuries is not well known among radiologists. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to identify different radiologically diagnosed injuries in children suffering ATV-related trauma and determine associations among various injuries as well as between injuries and outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 512 consecutive children suffering from ATV injuries treated at a tertiary care pediatric hospital. All imaging studies were reviewed and correlated with injury frequency and outcome using multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Head injuries occurred in 244 children (48%) and in five of six deaths. Calvarial skull fractures occurred in 104 children and were associated with brain, subdural and epidural injuries. Brain and orbit injuries were associated with long-term disability. A total of 227 extremity fractures were present in 172 children (34%). The femur was the most commonly fractured bone. Nine children had partial foot amputations. Multiorgan injuries occurred in nearly half of the 97 children with torso injuries. Determinants for long-term disability or death were head injuries (odds ratio 3.4) and extremity fractures (odds ratio 3.3). CONCLUSION: Head and extremity injuries are the two most common injuries in children suffering ATV injuries and are associated with long-term disability. ATV use by children is dangerous and is a significant threat to child safety.

Language: en