A Pilot Study on Environmental Factors Contributing to Childhood Home Slip-Down Injuries

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate environmental factors contributing to childhood home slip-down injuries. METHODS: Among a total of 2,812 injured children in our Customer Injury Surveillance System (CISS), we performed a prospective study on 262 children with home slip-down injuries who visited the pediatric emergency department of Asan Medical Center between March 2008 and February 2009. We made a frequency analysis on parameters such as activities just before the accident, the presence of any obstacles or lubricant materials, specific home place in the home where the injuries occurred, flooring materials on which the slipdown happened, additional objects hit after slip down, the site and kind of injury, the duration of therapy, and the disposition. RESULTS: Walking was the most common activity just before the injury. Because rooms and bathrooms were most common places in the home for slip down injuries, laminated papers/ vinyl floor coverings and tiles were the most common flooring materials used in the places where the injuries occured. Most commonly, no obstacles caused the children to slip down, but the furniture, stairs, doorsills, wetness, or soapy fluid followed after that. Over half of the children who slipped (58%) also collided with other than the floor itself after the slipdown, most common objects hit were the edges of the furniture, and doorsills, followed by stairways. The head and neck were the most commonly injured sites, and a laceration was the most common kind of injury. Most children needed less than 1 week of therapy, only 4 children (1.53%) admitted. There were no mortalities. CONCLUSION: The environmental factors contributing to slip-down injuries were the bathroom, laminated papers/vinyl floors, the furniture, stairs, doorsills, and wetness or soapy fluid. Especially, the furniture, stairs, and doorsills can be both primary obstacles and secondary collision objects. For the safety of our children, we must consider these factors on housing, when decorating or remodeling our house.