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Injuries and child abuse increase during the pandemic over 12942 emergency admissions
Quentin Hennocq1, Célia Adjed2, Hélène Chappuy3
1Service de chirurgie maxillofaciale et chirurgie plastique, Hôpital Necker - Enfants Malades, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Paris, 149 rue de Sèvres, Paris 75015, France.
Insights
The 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in France led to a significant increase in pediatric injuries, including trauma and burns. Child abuse and neglect also saw a concerning rise, highlighting the need for targeted prevention strategies during future lockdowns.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
- Child Welfare
Background:
- The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a strict lockdown in France from March to May 2020.
- Overcrowded conditions in the Great Paris region exacerbated challenges for children and families.
- The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the 2020 spring lockdown on pediatric injuries, child abuse, and neglect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence of injuries in children during the 2020 French lockdown.
- To determine the incidence of child abuse and neglect during the same period.
- To compare these findings with data from the preceding year (2019).
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of pediatric admissions to emergency and critical care departments.
- Data screened from 20 hospitals in the Great Paris region, covering 12,942 children.
- Specific keywords were employed to identify cases of injuries, child abuse, and neglect.
Main Results:
- Significant increases in head and neck trauma (1.2% vs. 0.7%), burns (0.6% vs. 0.1%), lacerations (0.5% vs. 0.3%), and fractures (0.5% vs. 0.3%) were observed in 2020 compared to 2019.
- Dog bites also showed a statistically significant increase (0.1% vs. 0.0%).
- While the number of child abuse and neglect cases decreased slightly (18 in 2020 vs. 24 in 2019), the prevalence remained significant (p=0.005).
Conclusions:
- The 2020 lockdown period was associated with a higher incidence of various pediatric injuries.
- Child abuse and neglect remained a significant concern during the lockdown.
- Implementing targeted preventive measures is essential for mitigating the adverse effects of future strict lockdowns on children.
Introduction:
A strict lockdown was decided from 17/03/2020 to 11/05/2020 in France in order to tackle the first wave of the COVID19 pandemic. In the Great Paris region, several areas are severely affected by overcrowding, creating difficult conditions for children and their families during a period of nearly two months. The objective was to assess the effects of the 2020 spring lockdown on injuries, child abuse and neglect.
Material And Methods:
The central medical data warehouse was screened for all pediatric admissions at emergency and critical care departments of 20 hospitals, in a cohort of 12942 children. Specific keywords were used to screen for both injuries and child abuse and neglect.
Results:
We found head and neck trauma (1.2% in 2020 vs. 0.7% in 2019, p<0.001), burns (0.6% in 2020 vs. 0.1% in 2019, p < 0.001), lacerations (0.5% in 2020 vs. 0.3% in 2019, p<0.001), fractures (0.5% in 2020 vs. 0.3% in 2019, p<0.017), dog bites (0.1% in 2020 vs. 0.0% in 2019, p<0.001), and child abuse and neglect (18 cases during the 2020 lockdown vs. 24 cases in 2019, p=0.005) were significantly more prevalent during this period than during the same control period in 2019.
Conclusions:
These results indicate that specific prevention measures are crucial if strict lockdowns are to be decided in the future.
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