Epidemiological profile of child victims of everyday life injuries versus road traffic accident

¹ -Department of pediatric surgical emergencies, children’s hospital of Rabat, Morocco
² -Faculty of medecine and pharmacy, University Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco
³ -Laboratory of Genetic and Biometry, faculty of science, university IbnTofail Kenitra, Morocco
⁴ -Laboratory of epidemiology, clinical research and Biostatistics, faculty of medecine and pharmacy, University Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.

Abstract

Unintentional injuries (UI) correspond to “unplanned” events; they include everyday life injuries (EDL), road traffic accident (RTA) and work accidents. In our pediatric context, the latter are excluded. Aim: Draw up an epidemiological profile of UI in children hospitalized for at least 24 hours and make a comparison between EDL and RTA. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted during four years, about children hospitalized for UI, in the pediatric surgical emergency department (PSE) of the children's hospital of Rabat, Morocco. Sociodemographic and medical data were analyzed by statistical software (JAMOVI). Results: 545 files were retained. EDL represented 81.9 % with a male predominance (70.4%). The median age was 8 years [4; 12] with predominance of school children (63.5%). Infants predominated in EDL (15.1%). Spring has a predominance in RTA (33%), while there is a reversal of the trend for the other seasons (p<0.05). As regards the accident, the majority occurred on weekdays. The injured body parts were multiple for the RTA (39.1%) and affected the limbs (58.5%) for the EDL (p <0.05). Radiological abnormalities were found in 79.6% of cases in EDL. The 24-hour hospital stay was for EDL (66.7%) while RTA is hospitalized beyond 48 hours (53.7%).