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US pediatric injuries involving amusement rides, 1990-2010

Meghan C Thompson1, Thiphalak Chounthirath, Huiyun Xiang

  • 1Center for Injury Research and policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children’s Drive, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.

Clinical Pediatrics
|May 3, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Over 92,000 children sustained amusement ride injuries in US emergency departments from 1990-2010. Falls were the most common cause, highlighting a need for improved ride safety for pediatric patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Public Health Surveillance
  • Injury Prevention Science

Background:

  • Amusement rides are a common source of pediatric injuries.
  • Understanding injury patterns is crucial for developing effective safety measures.
  • Existing surveillance systems may not fully capture the scope of amusement ride-related incidents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the epidemiology of pediatric injuries associated with amusement rides treated in US emergency departments.
  • To identify common injury types, body regions, and mechanisms.
  • To assess the need for enhanced national injury surveillance for amusement rides.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS).
  • Inclusion of pediatric patients (≤17 years) treated for amusement ride-related injuries between 1990 and 2010.
  • Calculation of injury rates, demographic characteristics, injury types, and mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • An estimated 92,885 children (average 4,423 annually) were treated for amusement ride injuries.
  • The head and neck (28.0%) were most commonly injured; soft tissue injuries (29.4%) predominated.
  • Falls (31.7%) were the leading cause of injury, with a low hospitalization rate (1.5%).

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric amusement ride injuries are a significant public health concern, with falls being a primary mechanism.
  • Current data suggest opportunities exist to enhance amusement ride safety for children.
  • Improved national injury surveillance is recommended to better monitor and prevent these incidents.

Keywords:
amusement rideschildrenemergency departmentinjurypediatrictrauma

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