Retrospective Analysis of Pediatric Trauma Cases Admitted to the Emergency Medicine Department

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the prognosis of the demographic characteristics, etiology, morbidity and mortality rates of the pediatric trauma patients admitted to the emergency department of a training and research hospital. Material and Methods: Pediatric patients who have been brought to the emergency department of a training and research hospital between 1st January- 31th December 2010 due to trauma have been included to this study. The demographic data of the patients, distribution by seasons and months, the etiologic factors that cause trauma, the way that patients have been admitted to the emergency department, conclusion figures of the patients in the emergency department, and data of the units where patients have been hospitalized, treatments, average hospitalization time, conclusion figures of the clinics where they have been hospitalized have been analyzed statistically. Results: Of the 18936 patients, 12096 boys and 6840 girls have been included to this study. The mean was as 8.11 +/- 5.19 in boys and 6.89 +/- 5.04 in girls. The most common age for trauma was 7-14 (36.15%) and it has been stated that the pediatric trauma cases have been mostly admitted in Spring and Summer months. Extremity injuries (42.40%) and falls (40.67%) were stated as the most etiologic causes. 815 of the patients have been hospitalized. 353 cases (43.31%) received surgical invention while 462 (56.69%) cases received only medical treatment. The causes of death in pediatric trauma patients were: 10 (47.62%) o due to traffic accidents, 5 (23.81%) due to falls, 5 (23.81%) due to burns and 1 (4.76%) due to drowning. It has been stated that 13 (61.90%) cases were male and 8 (38.10%) patients were girls of a total 21 cases resulting in death. Conclusion: Most of the pediatric traumas occur due to falls or simple extremity injuries. Traumas are mostly seen between the 7-14 age range during the primary school period. The most common etiological factors in hospital admissions are falls. The most common etiological cause of death in pediatric trauma is traffic accidents.