TY - JOUR PY - 2023// TI - Patterns, mechanism of injury and outcome of pediatric trauma at a level 1 trauma centre: a descriptive retrospective analysis JO - Frontiers in pediatrics A1 - Alansari, Amani N. A1 - Mekkodathil, Ahammed A1 - Peralta, Ruben A1 - Baykuziyev, Temur A1 - Alhussaini, Nour W. Z. A1 - Asim, Mohammad A1 - El-Menyar, Ayman SP - e1084715 EP - e1084715 VL - 11 IS - N2 - BACKGROUND: There is a gap in knowledge on the epidemiology of pediatric trauma in the developing countries. We aimed to describe the injury pattern, mechanism of injury (MOI), and outcomes of pediatric trauma in a level 1 trauma centre in one of the Arab Middle Eastern countries.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of pediatric injury data was conducted. All trauma patients (<18 years old) requiring hospitalization between 2012 and 2021 were included. Patients were categorized and compared based on the MOI, age-group and injury severity.

RESULTS: A 3,058 pediatric patients (20% of the total trauma admissions) were included in the study. The incidence rate in 2020 was 86 cases per 100,000 pediatric population in Qatar. The majority were male (78%) and the mean age was 9.3 ± 5.7 years. Nearly 40% had head injuries. The in-hospital mortality rate was 3.8%. The median injury severity score (ISS) (interquartile range; IQR) was 9 (4-14) and Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was 15 (IQR 15-15). Almost 18% required Intensive Care admission. Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) were more frequent in 15-18 years old whereas ≤4 years group was mostly injured by falling objects. The case fatality rate was higher among females (5.0%), and in 15-18 years (4.6%) and <4 years (4.4%) group. Pedestrian injuries were more lethal among the MOI. One fifth had severe injury with a mean age of 11 ± 6 and 9.5% had ISS of ≥25. Predictors of severe injury were age (10 years old and above) and RTI.

CONCLUSION: Almost one-fifth of the trauma admissions at the level 1 trauma centre in Qatar is due to traumatic injuries among the pediatric population. Developing strategies that are based on understanding the age- and mechanism-specific patterns of traumatic injuries among the pediatric population remains crucial.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2296-2360 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1084715 ID - ref1 ER -