Trends in the U.S. Childhood Emergency Department Visits for Fall-Related Fractures, 2001-2015

Objective The study's objective is to examine national trends in emergency department visits for unintentional fall-related fractures among children aged 0 to 19 years between 2001 and 2015. Methods The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System - All Injury Program was used to generate national estimates of fall-related fractures treated in emergency departments. Subsequently, according to demographic characteristics, body parts, and sport activities, age-adjusted fracture rates were calculated using the 2000 U.S. population as the standard. The joinpoint regression program was used to examine the average annual percent change in fracture rates during the study period.  Results An estimated 7.9 million emergency department visits for fall-related fractures among U.S. children occurred between 2001 and 2015. Overall, upper extremity fractures accounted for 70% of the cases. Trend analyses demonstrated that fracture rates markedly decreased among children aged 10 to 15 years by -2.5% (95% C: -3.4% to -1.6%) per year. After adjusting for age, boys' fracture rates decreased annually by -1.9% (95% CI: -3.1% to -0.6%), whereas the average decrease in girls was less accentuated by -1.4% (95% CI: -1.8% to -1.0%) per year. Notably, forearm/wrist fracture rates decreased annually by -2.4% (95% CI: -2.9% to -1.9%) from 2004 onwards. In contrast, head and neck fracture rates significantly increased on average by 2.6% (95% CI: 1.3% to 3.9%) per year.  Conclusion Childhood emergency department visits for fall-related fractures significantly decreased in the U.S. between 2001 and 2015. However, further research is needed to determine factors related to upward trends in head/neck fractures seen during the study period.