Kamran Aghakhani , Ebrahim Ameri , Maryam Ameri , Seyed Ali Mohtarami ,
Volume 73, Issue 1 (April 2015)
Abstract
Background: Orthopedic trauma is a common type of injury in children and may cause deep and permanent psychological and physical damage both for the patient and the parents. This study aimed to analyze the epidemiology age, gender distribution and the mechanism of injury in patients presenting to a level I trauma center in urban population of Tehran. Methods: In this prospective descriptive study, the patients under 19 years old with orthopedic trauma who were hospitalized in Tehran Shafa University Hospital were entered. This hospital is the main orthopedic referral center in Iran. The patients were prospectively evaluated from April 2013 to March 2014. The data were collected and analyzed. Results: The study included 1081 patients under 19 years old. There was a male predominance (76.8% n= 830). The boys had a higher mean age 11.04±5.06 year, versus girls with mean age 8.67±4.63 year (P< 0.05). The peak age of boys was 18 and the girls had two peaks at three and nine. The fractures occurred in upper limb in 70.8% (n= 621) and 29.2% (n= 256) in lower limb of patients. There were 27 cases with joint dislocation, 5 cases with knee ligamentous injuries, 128 cases with soft tissue injuries and 44 cases with spine injuries. The most frequent mechanism in both gender were falls from standing position (48.5%). The most common fractures were foreman both bone fractures (n: 146 16.7%), elbow supracondylar fractures (n: 134, 15.3%) and distal radius fractures (n: 84, 9.6%). The most fractures occurred in summer (30.1%) and the least in winter (18.1%). Conclusion: Evaluation of epidemiologic factors can lead to the best prediction and treatment planning of trauma. Early recognition of injury, even minor, and expected care using specialized teams will help to improve outcomes for these patients. This study determines the most at risk children for trauma and fractures and may help the parents to prevent damage.
