TY - JOUR
PY - 2015//
TI - Falls in young children with minor head injury: a prospective analysis of injury mechanisms
JO - Brain injury
A1 - Samuel, Nir
A1 - Jacob, Ron
A1 - Eilon, Yael
A1 - Mashiach, Tania
A1 - Shavit, Itai
SP - 946
EP - 950
VL - 29
IS - 7-8
N2 - BACKGROUND: Fall is a common mechanism of injury (MOI) in young children and an important risk factor for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Most children who fall have a minor head injury (MHI), defined as a blunt head trauma that occurred in a patient who is conscious and responsive.
OBJECTIVE: To seek a possible association between MOI and injury severity.
METHODS: A single centre cohort study was conducted. Data were collected on patients aged 0-2 years with MHI. Clinically-significant TBI (csTBI), defined as head injury resulting in death, intubation or neurosurgery, was the primary outcome measure. Traumatic finding on CT scan (TFCT) was the secondary outcome measure.
RESULTS: Five hundred and ninety-five patients were analysed. Eight types of falls were identified: from ground-level, down stairs, from a bed, from a changing table, from furniture, from adult-hold, from a playground-device and from a stroller/baby-carriage. One patient (0.16%) had csTBI. Thirty-one (5.2%) underwent CT scans, TFCT was diagnosed in 17 (2.8%) patients; 10 (1.7%) linear skull-fractures, two (0.3%) depressed skull-fractures and five (0.8%) intracranial haemorrhages. Regression analysis did not reveal a statistically significant association between any of the MOI and the presence of TFCT.
CONCLUSIONS: The risk for csTBI was low and no association was found between MOI and injury severity.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0269-9052 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699052.2015.1017005 ID - ref1 ER -