Trends in Pediatric Neck Injuries During Sporting Activities

Background: Although neck injuries secondary to sporting activities in the pediatric demographic presenting to the emergency department (ED) are common, predictors of needing higher-level care (HLC) outside immediate treatment and release are not clear. The aim of this study was to describe how these neck injuries present in the United States (US) and identify predictors of HLC. Methods: We interrogated the US National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database for presentations to the ED of pediatric patients (aged 6-18 years old) whose primary complaint was neck injury in the setting of sport between 2014 and 2023. Statistical analysis utilized weighted estimates to evaluate incidence and then univariate and multivariate regression analyses were carried out to identify parameters associated with HLC for these patients. Results: Overall, a national weighted total of 360,885 ED presentations were estimated to have occurred in the last decade without any statistical change over the years. The mean age was 12.7 years, with more males (60.0%) than females (40.0%). The most common race observed was Black (50.6%), and these injuries most commonly occurred at a sporting complex (62.9%). Neck strains (59.9%) were the most common diagnosis seen across all presentations, followed by neck pain (29.1%), neck contusions (including abrasion) (6.4%), neck fractures (1.7%) and neck lacerations (0.8%). Ultimately, the majority of presentations were treated and released from the ED (95.5%). There were 4.5% of presentations, however, that did require HLC. Older age (OR 1.07, p = 0.004), male gender (OR 1.51, p = 0.002), involvement of other body part(s) (OR 1.45, p = 0.007) and non-strain neck injuries (OR 11.8, p < 0.001) were all independent, statistically significant predictors of HLC. Football (18.6%) was the most common sport associated with these presentations overall, but this was driven mostly by male cases. For females, the most common sport associated with these presentations was cheerleading (12.3%). Conclusions: In the last decade, neck injuries secondary to sporting activities in the pediatric demographic presenting to the ED have remained consistent. We have identified a unique set of predictors for presentations requiring HLC. These findings can be used in tandem with the findings that there are a number of gender-specific sports that drive these presentations to develop more sensitive and specific protocols for both primary prevention and ED triaging.