Pattern of unintentional injuries in children seen in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: Unintentional injuries are bound to occur in children. They are of major public health concern. This study aims to report the type of unintentional injuries and the location of the injuries as seen in a tertiary hospital. Material and Methods: This is an ‘ambispective’ hospital-based study lasting for 12 months. This was conducted in the emergency paediatric units of two tertiary hospitals in Southern Nigeria. Every child who reported unintentional injury was included in the study. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data by trained research assistants. Data were collected and analysed using International Business Machines Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The results were represented in bar and pie charts, respectively. Ethical approval was given by the Institutional Ethics and Research Committee. Results: A total of 212 children were included in the study. Males were the highest (60.8%), and children ≤10 years of age were 64.5%, of which those ≤5 years old were 34.6% respectively. Falls were the main cause of injury in all age groups, constituting 53.9%, followed by ingestion of toxic substances and foreign bodies (29.1%). The upper and lower limbs were mostly affected in 79.2% (n = 168) of the children. Males were commonly injured in the lower limbs. Conclusion: Unintentional injuries are commoner in children ≤5 years old; unintentional falls are the most common cause in all age groups and affect mostly the upper and lower limbs.