title: Liver injury in children: causes, patterns and outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the causes, patterns and outcomes of hepatic trauma in children with those in adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective audit was conducted of a five-year period from 1996 of adults and children admitted to Christchurch Hospital with liver injuries. Details of age, mechanism of injury, injury severity score (ISS), radiological grade of liver injury, operations and mortality were recorded and analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 93 liver injuries over the five-year period: 22 in children and 71 in adults. The median age of each group was 7 and 29 years respectively. The most common causes of injury in children were bicycle (7/22) and motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) (7/22). The majority (37/71) of adult injuries were caused by MVAs. The median length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the paediatric group: 4 days (range 1-12) in children vs 9 days (range 0-52) in adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Liver trauma in children has a different spectrum of causes, and results in more severe liver injury than in adults. However, children are more likely to have an isolated liver injury that results in a shorter length of stay in hospital. A nationwide paediatric-injury surveillance system might allow better identification of preventable causes of injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wakeman
authors.forename: Spencer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beasley
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Frizelle
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gooding
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sharr
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dobbs
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000453:epidemiology