[Epidemiologic study of injuries in childhood: the first pediatric trauma registry]
J A Navascués del Río1, J Soleto Martín, J Cerdá Berrocal
1Servicio de Cirugía Pediátrica, Hospital Infantil Gregorio Marañón, Madrid.
Insights
The Spanish Pediatric Trauma Registry was established to track injuries in children. This initiative helps understand injury patterns and improve care for young patients.
Area of Science:
- Trauma research
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Public health surveillance
Context:
- Acute injuries present a significant health burden in the pediatric population.
- Effective data collection is crucial for understanding injury epidemiology.
- The development of a national registry facilitates comprehensive analysis.
Purpose:
- To establish the first Spanish Pediatric Trauma Registry.
- To collect and evaluate data on pediatric injuries.
- To inform strategies for injury prevention and management.
Summary:
- The registry documented 521 pediatric trauma cases in 1995, collecting 103 data points per patient.
- Accidents were more common in males (69%) and the 12-15 age group (36%). Falls constituted the leading cause of injury (37%).
- 13.4% of cases had a pediatric trauma score ≤8, with 29 patients requiring ICU admission and 214 needing surgery.
Impact:
- Provides crucial epidemiological data for the Spanish pediatric population.
- Identifies deficiencies in prehospital care for potential improvement.
- Enhances hospital care and aids in early prognosis factor recognition.
Objective:
In order to collect and evaluate information concerning aspects of injuries in our pediatric population, we developed the first Spanish Pediatric Trauma Registry.
Patients And Methods:
During 1995, 11,307 patients were seen at our hospital for acute injuries: 521 were admitted to the hospital and are included in our database. Each patient's protocol consists of 103 data points including: patient identification, type, place and mechanism of injury, prehospital care, transport, assessment on admission, severity scores, diagnostic studies, injuries, treatment and morbidity-mortality.
Results:
We found that accidents were more frequent in males (69) than in females. The predominant age group was 12-15 years (36%). Falls were the leading cause of injury (37%). A pediatric trauma score of 8 or less was seen in 13.4% of the cases. Twenty-nine patients were hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit and 214 needed some surgical treatment.
Conclusions:
The utility of this registry is: 1) The knowledge of the epidemiology of our pediatric population. 2) To know and correct prehospital care deficiencies. 3) To improve hospital assistance and to recognize early prognosis factors.
