title: Fracture patterns in children and young adults who fall from significant heights.
abstract: Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for children and young adults. When all causes of trauma are considered, falls are the most common mechanism of injury. To address specifically age-related fracture patterns in children who fall, we identified 125 consecutive patients, 21 years old or younger, who fell from a height of 10 feet or greater. The medical records and radiographs for 110 of these patients were available for review. Patients were divided into three groups based on age: there were 25 infant/toddlers (0-2 years), 55 children (3-10 years), and 30 adolescent/young adults (11-21 years). We found statistically significant differences in fracture distribution between the groups. The adolescent/young adult group sustained a greater number of vertebral fractures (p<0.003) and total fractures per fall (p<0.015). The children, in contrast, had a greater number of long bone fractures (p<0.05). Knowledge of age-related fracture patterns could result in improved diagnosis and treatment of these injuries.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dormans
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Catalano
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Drummond
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015143:Philadelphia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011336:Probability; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014505:Urban Population