Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine (대한응급의학회지)

The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine (대한응급의학회)
권호 표지

The characteristics of mild head injuries in preschool-age children fall: a retrospective observational study

학령전기 소아에서 추락으로 인한 경증 두부손상의 특징에 대한 후향적 관찰 연구

  • Sung, Min Suk (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Lee, Ji Sook (Department of Emergency Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine) ;
  • Jeon, Woochan (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Park, Junseok (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Kim, Kyung Hwan (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Shin, Dongwun (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Kim, Hoon (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Park, Joon Min (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital) ;
  • Kim, Hyunjong (Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Ilsanpaik Hospital)
  • 성민석 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 이지숙 (아주대학교 의과대학 응급의학교실) ;
  • 전우찬 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 박준석 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 김경환 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 신동운 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 김훈 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 박준민 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 김현종 (인제대학교 일산백병원 응급의학과)
  • Received : 2018.06.26
  • Accepted : 2018.08.28
  • Published : 2018.10.31

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Abstract

Objective: Falling is a common cause of head injury in preschool aged children. We investigated the characteristics of mild head injuries caused by falling and the association between body weight and occurrence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted on head-injured preschool-aged children that visited the emergency department from January 2012 to December 2015. Characteristics such as age, sex, weight, free fall height, floor type, and presence of TBI, as defined as cerebral hemorrhage or skull fracture, were investigated. We calculated body weight percentiles by calibrating age and weight and categorized them into four quartile ranges. We grouped all included cases into two groups according to the presence of TBI. The characteristics of the two groups were compared by using chi-square test, and the association with TBI was investigated by using binomial logistic regression. Results: A total of 701 children were included, and TBI was observed in 95 children. Children with TBI were younger. The proportion of children with TBI was higher in the third and fourth quartiles of the body weight group as well as according to soft floor and fall from high height (${\geq}1m$). The odds of soft floor being associated with TBI was higher than the odds for hard floor (odds ratio, 2.734; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.597-4.680). The odds of high height (${\geq}1m$) being associated with TBI was higher than that for low height (odds ratio, 2.306; 95% CI, 1.155-4.601), and the odds ratio for the weight percentile group was 1.228 (95% CI, 1.005-1.499). Conclusion: Prevalence of TBI after falling in preschool-aged children might be associated with high fall-height and body weight quartiles.

Keywords

References

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