Severe outcome of children following trauma resulting from road accidents.
This abstract comes from the european journal of pediatrician., and is by E Javouhey and colleagues from the chiron Lab at UMRASTTE in France.
OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine the risk factors of a severe outcome for children severely injured [killed or with an Injury Severity Score >/=16] in a road accident.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Casualties that occurred between 1996 and 2001 which involved children under 14 years of age were assessed in a population-based study based on data included in a French road trauma Registry. A severe traumatic brain injury was defined as a head injury with an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) severity score >/=3. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to quantify the risk of a “severe outcome” defined as death or an expected serious impairment 1 year later.
RESULTS The annual incidence of an ISS of 16+ was 7.7 per 100,000 children. Among the 126 severely injured children included in this study, 40 died (including 16 immediate deaths), and a severe outcome was expected for 54 of the 86 survivors. Children with an “isolated severe traumatic brain injury ” and those with “multiple injuries including traumatic brain injury ” were more likely to have a severe outcome than those who had an “isolated severe injury without traumatic brain injury ” (OR: 7.91; 95%CI: 1.43-43.77 and OR: 8.37; 95%CI: 1.52-46.13, respectively). Age was inversely linked to a severe outcome. The unprotected motor vehicle occupants (MVO) had an odds ratio of 7.56 (95%CI: 1.07-53.56) compared to the protected MVO. Only 30% of children who survived a severe TBI were admitted to rehabilitation.
CONCLUSION The mechanism of the injury, an injury pattern involving the head and a young age were associated with a severe outcome following a road accident. A majority of children severely injured were not referred to inpatient rehabilitation.
This article is availabe from pubmed the identifier is 16649025 and it is from April 2006