title: Pediatric short-distance household falls: biomechanics and associated injury severity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Short-distance household falls are a common occurrence in young children, but are also a common false history given by caretakers to conceal abusive trauma. The purpose of this study was to determine the severity of injuries that result from accidental short-distance household falls in children, and to investigate the association of fall environment and biomechanical measures with injury outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children aged 0-4 years who presented to the Emergency Department with a history of a short furniture fall were included in the study. Detailed case-based biomechanical assessments were performed using data collected through medical records, interviews, and fall scene investigations. Injuries were rated using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Each case was reviewed by a child abuse expert; cases with a vague or inconsistent history and cases being actively investigated for child abuse were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  79 subjects were enrolled in the study; 15 had no injuries, 45 had minor (AIS 1) injuries, 17 had moderate (AIS 2) injuries, and 2 had serious (AIS 3) injuries. No subjects had injuries classified as AIS 4 or higher, and there were no fatalities. Children with moderate or serious injuries resulting from a short-distance household fall tended to have fallen from greater heights, have greater impact velocities, and have a lower body mass index than those with minor or no injuries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children aged 0-4 years involved in a short-distance household fall did not sustain severe or life-threatening injuries, and no children in this study had moderate or serious injuries to multiple body regions. Biomechanical measures were found to be associated with injury severity outcomes in short-distance household falls. Knowledge of relationships between biomechanical measures and injury outcomes can aid clinicians when assessing whether a child's injuries were the result of a short-distance fall or some other cause.
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. angela.thompson@louisville.edu
authors.forename: Angela K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bertocci
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pierce
mesh_terms: D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D000058:Accidental Falls; D000061:Accidents, Home; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007629:Kentucky; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*