Incidence of injury in children treated at the Department of Emergency Medicine of the Split-Dalmatia County

Abstract

Injuries in children are a major public health problem that has been recognized by the World Health  Organisation, which adopted a 10-year action plan in 2006 for the prevention of children injuries. The aim of this study was to  determine demographic data, preva- lence, severity and type of injuries in children admitted to the  Emergency Department in the Split-Dalmatia County during a five- year period. This cross-sectional  study included data on 25,037 subjects aged <18 who were treated in the period from January 2015 to  January 2020. During the five-year study period, out of the total number of injured children, there  were 16,158 (64.54%) boys and 8,879 (35.46%) girls. The highest number of injuries (n=8409; 33.59%) were recorded in the 6-12 age  group, while the lowest number of injuries were recorded in the first year of life (n=1077; 4.30%).  Injuries to the head were most common (n=9670; 38.62%), followed by injuries to the elbow, forearm,  wrist and hand (n=5384; 21.50%) and injuries to the knee, lower leg, ankle and foot (n=5146; 20.55%). Out of the total number of injured children, the number of deaths at the scene of injury  was 24 (0.09%), recorded in 16 boys and 8 girls. Further treatment at the Split University Hospital  Centre was ordered in 7.88% of children.