Childhood Injuries in Singapore: Can Local Physicians and the Healthcare System Do More to Confront This Public Health Concern?

Assessment of Paediatric Forensic Cases Under the Age of 18 Who Presented to the Emergency Clinic: The Case of Kilis, a Border City with Syria

AIM

This study was conducted to determine the paediatric forensic cases under the age of 18 from of the year of the outbreak of war.

DESING AND METHODS

The population of the study included 16,970 people under the age of 18, who were accepted as forensic cases among 88,052 cases, who presented to the emergency department of Kilis State Hospital between January 2011 and November 2019. The application time of the patients, their nationality, age, gender, their types of application to the emergency department, the event causing the forensic case, and the follow-up and treatment methods in the emergency department were recorded on the standard data entry form.

RESULTS

Among all the paediatric forensic cases, it was determined that 52.0% were Syrian, 70.8% were boys, 30.0% were in the age range of 11 and 15 years and 20.5% had an outpatient treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, although juvenile forensic rates are consistent with the literature, the higher forensic cases of Syrian nationality was determined as a striking result.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Today, considering extraordinary situations such as wars and armed conflicts, more refugees may benefit from Turkish healthcare services in the in the forthcoming periods and it is important for community health to conduct studies in this field.

Characteristics of emergency room visits in patients with facial injuries in mainland China during the 60-day level I emergency response to COVID-19

Chinese mainland launched the 60-day first-level response to major public health emergencies during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aimed to determine the incidence and describe the characteristics and predictors of patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with facial trauma during this period. A retrospective review was conducted on the basis of data on facial trauma presented at the ED of XXX Hospital from 24 January 2020 to 23 March 2020 and the same period in the previous two years. Multivariate linear regression model was employed to explore potential determinants associated with daily number of facial trauma. Significant reduction was observed in the amount of facial trauma during the COVID-19 level I emergency response. The trauma volume evenly distributed over the week. The declined most significantly by age group, 20-29 years, and by time range of visit, 00:00-08:00. Multivariate regression analyses revealed positive relationship between daily minimum temperature and facial trauma volume. The number of facial injuries decreased significantly during the COVID-19 Level 1 emergency response, with the least reduction in total daytime facial trauma and in infant and child facial trauma. And a higher minimum temperature may lead to increased number of facial trauma presentations.

Mortality And Morbidity of Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries; A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Experience Over 15 Years

Objective

To determine the mortality, morbidity, types of intracranial hemorrhages, and factors associated with length of stay (LOS) associated with accidental traumatic brain injury (TBI) at a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a regional trauma center in an Asian city.

Methods

This study is a retrospective review of types of head injury, mortality and morbidity demographics of patients admitted to a PICU with TBI. All patients with accidental TBI were included, namely road traffic injury (RTI) and fall, and their demographics compared. Non-accidental injuries (NAI) were excluded.

Results

95 children (78% males) were admitted to a PICU with RTI or falls from 2002 to 2017. They accounted for 3.7% of PICU admissions. Comparing with falls, victims of RTI were older (p<0.001) and more likely to suffer from skull fracture (p=0.017). There were 4 deaths with falls (6.8%) but none with RTI. Subarachnoid hemorrhages, extradural hemorrhages, the use of mechanical ventilation, inotropes and neurological supports were associated with longer LOS in PICU in these injuries (p<0.001).

Conclusion

A longer PICU LOS is associated with extradural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, usage of inotropes, mechanical ventilation and neurological supports in falls and RTI. Three-quarters of victims are males. Preventive health education should be especially directed to boys to reduce severe TBI in this Asian city.