Emergency department visits for nonfatal childhood injuries in Romania.
BACKGROUND
Childhood injury rates are higher in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Childhood injuries have not been widely studied in Romania, a middle-income country, because data sources are lacking.


OBJECTIVE
This study presents the first surveillance data of nonfatal childhood injuries from a large children's hospital in Cluj, a major city of Romania.


METHODS
This retrospective study included review of medical records of injured children of 0-18 years of age treated in a major city pediatric emergency department from 1999 to 2003.


RESULTS
In the 5-year study period, 1179 childhood injuries were treated in the emergency department, for an average of 236 patients per year. For the county of Cluj, this represents an annual average injury incidence of 197 per 100,000 children younger than 5 years, 140 per 100 000 children aged 5-14 years, and 135 per 100 000 for children aged 15-18 years. Unintentional injuries represented 77.8% of cases, 18% were self-harm and suicide attempts, and 4.3% were assaults.


CONCLUSIONS
These trends, among the first reported from Romania, can help identify priority prevention areas.
Oprescu
Florin
F
Center for Health Policy and Public Health, Institute for Social Research University Babes-Bolyai, Cluj, Romania.
Peek-Asa
Corinne
C
Young
Tracy
T
Figan
Ioan
I
Nour
Dan
D
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*