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Assaults with a sharp object in small children: a 16-year review
A B van As1, J van Dijk, A Numanoglu
1Head Trauma Unit, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7701, South Africa. Sebastian.vanas@uct.ac.za
Insights
Sharp object assaults on children are rare but serious, often occurring at home with familiar objects like glass or knives. Prevention programs targeting caretakers are crucial to reduce these tragic injuries.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Trauma Surgery
- Child Injury Prevention
- Forensic Pediatrics
Background:
- Injuries from sharp object assaults in young children are infrequent, with limited available data.
- The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in South Africa serves over 10,000 pediatric trauma patients annually.
- This hospital is the sole dedicated Level 1 trauma unit for children under 13 in South Africa.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of sharp object assaults in children under 13.
- To identify common objects used, injury patterns, and demographic factors in pediatric sharp object assaults.
- To inform prevention strategies for sharp object-related injuries in children.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of a database from the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa.
- Inclusion criteria: children coded as 'assault with sharp object' treated at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.
- Analysis of 551 patient records for demographics, injury sites, severity, objects used, and perpetrator information.
Main Results:
- Boys (68%) were more frequently injured than girls (32%), with a mean age of 7 years.
- The head and neck region (51%) was the most common injury site, followed by the trunk (26%) and extremities (26%).
- Glass/bottles (33%) and knives (18%) were the most frequent objects; 62% of injuries were minor, 33% moderate, and 5% severe, with 3 deaths.
Conclusions:
- Sharp object assaults, though rare (0.328% of pediatric trauma), result in significant morbidity and mortality.
- Most assaults occurred at home, with perpetrators often known to the child.
- Targeted prevention programs for caretakers are essential to mitigate these injuries.
Abstract:
Injuries as a result of assaults with sharp object in small children are rare and data on them are scarce. The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital is presently the only Children's Hospital in South Africa with a dedicated Level 1 trauma unit for children under the age of 13 years, and we have an annual trauma load of over 10,000 patients. A retrospective review was performed using the Data Base of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town. All children who were coded as an 'assault with sharp object' were included in this study. Five-hundred-and-fifty-one (551) patients were retrospectively reviewed, of which 373 (68%) were boys and 177 (32%) girls. The mean age of the children was 7 years. The majority of children (51%) sustained injuries at the head or neck region, 26% sustained an injury at the trunk and 26% at the extremities. The majority of children sustained minor injuries (62%), thirty-three (33%) moderate and 5% severe injuries. Three children died. The most commonly recorded object used in the assault was glass or (broken) bottles (33%) and knives (18%). Other objects recorded included sticks, stones, pens, pencils, scissors, machetes and nails. The majority of perpetrators were known to the child. Assaults with a sharp object in small children are relatively rare and represent only 0.328% of all paediatric trauma patients. Although rare, these injuries carry a significant morbidity and even mortality. The majority of injuries occurred at home. Prevention programmes, specifically targeting the caretakers, should be implemented to prevent these tragic injuries.
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