Abdulrhman Alnasser1, Ahmad Othman2, Osama Mobaireek1, Nesrin Alharthy2, Nawfal Aljerian3, Heythem Al Zamel4, Shoeb Qureshi5, Mohammed Al-Mutairi2
1College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2Department of Paediatric Emergency, King Abdullah Specialist Children Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
3Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
4Department of Surgery, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
5Department of Research, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
DOI: 10.4103/jnsbm.JNSBM_230_17
ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the pattern of pediatric traumas at a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, based on gender, age groups, mechanisms of injury, and anatomical regions. Methods: This retrospective observational study used the trauma registry of King Abdulaziz Medical City Trauma Center to review the data of all pediatric patients aged <14 years who were admitted to the hospital following trauma from January 2009 to April 2014. Demographic characteristics, date and time of admission, injury type and mechanism, body area involved, and the mortality rates were analyzed. Results: A total of 1762 patients were included, 68% of who were males. The most common mechanism of injury was blunt trauma (73%), followed by burns (17%) and penetrating injuries (10%). Road traffic injuries were the most common cause (50%) of blunt trauma, followed by fall (40%) and those caused by a physical object (10%). During the study, 305 patients with burns were treated with scalds accounting for the highest proportion (68%) of burn injuries. Sharp objects (79%) were the most frequent cause of penetrating injuries. A total of 50 mortality cases were recorded, which most commonly occurred among the school-aged group (40%) and male patients (78%). The leading cause of deaths among patients was blunt injury (92%). Conclusion: This study has shown the patterns of pediatric trauma injuries in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, illustrating the local variability across genders, age groups, injury types, and injury mechanisms. Such demographic data will be valuable for optimally resourcing health-care system locally.
Keywords: Anticipatory guidance, Pediatric trauma, Trauma registry.
