Premium
Playground equipment‐related head injuries requiring hospitalization in children
Author(s) -
Ono Hajime,
Sase Taigen,
Takasuna Hiroshi,
Tanaka Yuichiro
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.13765
Subject(s) - medicine , trampoline , head injury , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , poison control , head (geology) , pediatrics , emergency medicine , physical therapy , surgery , pathology , geomorphology , computer science , geology , operating system
Background The aim of this study was to investigate the circumstances of playground equipment‐related head injuries in children and consider preventive measures based on the associated characteristics. Methods The survey period was from February 1988 to January 2017. The study participants were children <15 years of age who had been hospitalized for playground equipment‐related head injury. The following factors were investigated retrospectively: age; sex; fall height; material of the surface under the equipment; mechanism and diagnosis of the head injury; neurological signs at admission; and neurological outcome. Results A total of 42 children (median age, 5 years; M/F: 26/16) were treated for head injuries, which involved a slide in 20 cases (47.6%), a swing in 11 (26.2%), a jungle gym in five (11.9%), monkey bars, iron bars, and a trampoline in one each, and unspecified equipment in six (14.3%). Falls ranged from a height of 1.2 to 2.5 m. Most of the falls occurred on hard soil or concrete. Head injuries depended on the age of the child, the injury mechanisms, and the characteristics of the equipment. Conclusions The playground equipment‐related head injuries found in the present study involved not only skull fractures and concussions, but also intracranial hemorrhage and surgical cases. Children routinely use playground equipment, so effective strategies to reduce the occurrence of playground equipment‐related head injuries need to be formulated.