Epidemiology of pediatric trauma and its pattern in urban India: A tertiary care hospital-based experience

AIM: To assess the epidemiology, pattern, and outcome of trauma in pediatric population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1148 pediatric patients below 15 years of age presenting in the emergency department of our hospital were studied over a period of 3 years. The patients were categorized into four age groups of <1 year, 1-5 years, 6-10 years, and 11-15 years. The data were compared regarding mode of trauma, type of injury, place of injury among different age groups and both sexes. Out of total 1148 patients admitted over a period of 36 months, 64 died (5.57%). 75 (6.5%) patients had some kind of residual deformity or disability. CONCLUSION: The high incidence of pediatric trauma on roads and falls indicate the need for more supervision during playing and identification of specific risk factors for these injuries in our setting. This study shows that these epidemiological parameters could be a useful tool to identify burden and research priorities for specific type of injuries. A comprehensive trauma registry in our set up seems to be important for formulating policies to reduce pediatric trauma burden.