Epidemiology of Limb Injuries in paediatric patients receiving care from Emergency Medical Service teams: descriptive analysys
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Injury-related interventions currently place a heavy workload on emergency medical teams in both adults and paediatric patients. One of the most common types of injuries are limb injuries caused by physical activity, falls or traffic accidents. It is extremely important to provide adequate protection for the paediatric patient in case of injury, as homeostasis disorders can occur very quickly in this age group. The aim of the study was to obtain data on the type and frequency of limb injuries in the group of paediatric patients who received medical rescue services interventions. An attempt was also made to specify the most frequent causes of limb injuries.
MATERIAL AND MeTHODS: The study was based on a retrospective analysis of medical records of emergency rescue teams in the period from November 2017 to October 2018. The study included an analysis of interventions to patients under 18 years of age to whom EMS teams intervened due to limb injury. The analysis included sociodemographic data such as age, gender, time and place of the injury, as well as the type of injury based on the ICD-10 classification.
RESULTS: In the studied period, 289 interventions in paediatric patients with limb injuries were recorded, which constituted 9.8% of all interventions in paediatric patients. The main site of the injury was a school. Upper limb injuries were reported in 123 cases, which constituted 42.6% of the intervention to the studied group of patients. The upper limb injuries were predominantly caused by forearm fractures (n = 33; Tab. 3), while the lower limb — by knee joint injuries.
CONCLUSIONS: Limb injuries account for nearly 10% of all EMS interventions in paediatric patients. The main site of the injury was a school and the most frequent were upper limb injuries including forearm fractures, while for the lower limb — knee joint injuries. Further action should be taken to reduce the number of limb injuries in children.
Keywords: limbtraumainjuryprehospital careemergency medicine serviceemergency medicine.
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