title: Isolated finger injuries in children--incidence and aetiology.
abstract: Details were recorded prospectively in a specifically designed questionnaire for all children presenting to the Accident and Emergency Department with isolated finger injuries over a period of 6 months, in order to understand the incidence and aetiology. Among the 426 injuries in 283 children, most occurred at home (59%) more in the <5 year age group (38%), involving the middle finger (25%) and terminal phalanges (47%). "Jamming/crushing" was the commonest reason (48%), mostly caused by a child (59%) at the living room door (32%) and more commonly at the hinge side (49%). Nail injuries were seen in 48% of cases and 16 amputations of terminal phalanges were noticed in 15 children. Tendon injuries were only caused when cut by sharp objects, and were not caused by jamming/crushing. Both children and adults should be educated about causation, reiterating that damage to fingers can be prevented or reduced by observing safety measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, Scotland, G3 8SJ, UK. nanjappachetty.doraiswamy@yorkhill.scot.nhs.uk
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Doraiswamy
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baig
mesh_terms: D000061:Accidents, Home; D000673:Amputation, Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D009262:Nails / Q000293:injuries; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires