Study on the Causes, Types, and Mechanisms of Childhood Injuries-Age and Disease Specificity

INTRODUCTION: To clarify the causes, types, and mechanisms of injuries in children, we collected injury cases and analyzed their causes. METHODS: During the 3-year period from 2013, we collected injury cases from three sources: nursery schools and kindergartens (A), emergency clinics of hospitals (B), and schools and a clinic for the developmentally disabled (C), using a format designed by Safe Kids Japan. RESULTS: In all, 383 cases were collected during the 3-year period. The causes of the injuries in group A were crashes, falls, and so on. The types of injuries were cuts, bruises, fractures, injuries of teeth, etc. Dislocations and abrasions were prominent in nursery school children (aged less than 3 years) and bone fractures were prominent in kindergarten children aged more than 3 years. Group B consisted of 144 cases. The most common causes of injuries were falls, traffic accidents, and so on, and the types of injuries were fractures, abrasions, sprains, etc. The incidence of fractures was particularly high and 50% of the accidents were bicycle accidents. Group C consisted of 41 cases. Although the age distribution was similar to that of group B, the types of accidents and injuries were similar to those of group A. The Bodygraphic Injury Surveillance System (BISS) analysis showed that groups A and C were similar, that is, injuries occurred mainly to the head, whereas in group B, the extremities were mainly affected. CONCLUSIONS: We analyzed the causes, types, and mechanisms of childhood injuries. The BISS may help to clarify the mechanisms of injuries in childhood.