A Characterization of Pediatric Craniofacial Injuries from Children's Toys
Dylan Treger1, Ethan Plotsker1, Seth R Thaller2
1University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL.
Insights
Scooters, balls, and toy vehicles cause most child craniofacial injuries. This study highlights risks and informs prevention strategies for toy-related head and face injuries in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric trauma
- Consumer product safety
- Injury prevention
Background:
- Toys are crucial for child development but can cause severe craniofacial injuries.
- A knowledge gap exists in comprehensively assessing toy-related craniofacial injuries.
- Understanding injury mechanisms aids in design innovation and caregiver education.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze toy-related craniofacial injuries in children aged 0-10.
- To identify specific toys and injury patterns.
- To inform risk mitigation and prevention strategies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System Database.
- Analyzed data from 2011 to 2020 for children aged 0-10.
- Focused on toy-related craniofacial injuries.
Main Results:
- Approximately 881,000 injuries occurred over 10 years.
- Children aged 1-5 were most affected, with peak incidence at age 2.
- Scooters, balls, and toy vehicles were leading causes of injury.
Conclusions:
- Identified high-risk toys for pediatric craniofacial injuries.
- Data aids in supervising play and anticipating emergency room cases.
- Further research is needed to optimize product safety features and designs.
Introduction:
Playing with toys contributes significantly to the cognitive, physical, and social development of children. Certain toys, unfortunately, carry the potential for serious craniofacial injury. There is a gap in the literature regarding the comprehensive assessment of toy-related craniofacial injuries. By studying mechanisms of injury and ensuing trauma, our goal is to encourage innovative design and educate caregivers, health care workers, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on risk mitigation and prevention.
Methods And Materials:
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System Database was queried to analyze toy-related craniofacial injuries that occurred in children (ages 0-10) between 2011 and 2020.
Results:
Approximately 881,000 injuries occurred over a 10-year span. Children ages 1 to 5 sustained most injuries, peaking at age 2 (16.3%). Males were injured 1.95 times more frequently than females. Injured sites included the face (43.7%), head (29.7%), mouth (13.5%), ears (6.9%), and eyes (6.2%). The top diagnoses were lacerations (40.4%), foreign bodies (16.2%), internal injuries (15.8%), and contusions (15.8%). The most common causes were scooters (13%), balls (6.9%), toy vehicles excluding riding toys (6.3%), building sets (4.4%), and tricycles (3%).
Discussion:
This study identifies toys that most frequently cause craniofacial injuries in children. These results provide new information about types of play that should be supervised, and this data helps anticipate injury profiles seen in emergency settings. Future research should study why the products identified are strongly associated with injuries, so safety features can be optimized and designs appropriately altered.
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