Incidence and description of high chair-related injuries to children
Elizabeth C Powell1, Edward Jovtis, Robert R Tanz
1Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill 60614, USA. epowell@northwestern.edu
Insights
High chair injuries are common in young children, often caused by falls. Using restraints could prevent most of these injuries, especially for infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Safety
- Injury Prevention
- Consumer Product Safety
Background:
- High chairs are common in households with young children.
- Injuries associated with high chairs pose a significant risk to child safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and circumstances of high chair-related injuries in US children.
- To identify the types of injuries and common causes associated with high chair use.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS).
- Analysis of injuries to children 3 years old and younger from 1994-1998.
- Focus on injuries treated in US hospital emergency departments.
Main Results:
- An estimated 40,650 high chair-related injuries occurred over 5 years.
- Falls from the chair accounted for 94% of injuries, primarily to the head and face.
- Contusions, lacerations, closed head injuries, and fractures were common diagnoses.
Conclusions:
- High chair injuries are frequent, especially in infants.
- Falls are the primary cause of these injuries.
- Increased use of restraints in high chairs could significantly reduce injury rates.
Study Objective:
To describe the incidence, circumstances, and types of high chair-related injuries among US children.
Design:
Retrospective review of data for children 3 years old and younger from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission for 1994-98.
Results:
There were an estimated 40 650 high chair-related injuries (95% confidence interval [CI], 32 657-48 643) to children 3 years old and younger treated in hospital emergency departments in the US during the 5-year study period. An estimated 5231 injuries (13%) were related to use of an attachable high chair (including booster seats), and an estimated 4067 (10%) were related to the use of a youth chair. The annual rate of injury among children < or =3 years old was 5.3 per 10 000. The mean age was 10 months (median, 1 year); 56% were boys. Ninety-four percent of injuries resulted from a fall from the chair. Most injuries involved the head (44%) or face (39%). Injury diagnoses included contusions or abrasions (36%), lacerations (25%), closed head injury (21%), and fractures (8%). Two percent of injured children, an estimated 941 (95% CI, 399-1487), were admitted to the hospital during the study period, an annual admission rate of 0.1 per 10 000. There were no significant differences between attachable high chairs, youth chairs, and high chairs in anatomic sites of injury, injury diagnosis, or frequency of hospital admission.
Conclusions:
Injuries related to high chairs are common, particularly among children in the first year of life. They often result from falls from the chair. The data suggest that restraint use would prevent most of these injuries.
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