title: Management of skull fractures in children less than 1 year of age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Management of skull fracture (SF) in pediatric patients varies from observation in the emergency department (ED) to floor admission. Since 2010, a protocol for admitting children with SF specifically to the trauma service was implemented at our institution. The purpose of our study was to review the management of children with SF younger than 1 year of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review of all patients between 0 and 1year of age seen in our ED for a SF was done from 2010 to 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 180 patients with a mean age of 4.5months (1day-12months) were identified. Of these, 131 patients (73%) were admitted. Mean length of stay was 1.6days. Admitted patients had more depressed (21 vs. 8%) and diastatic (43 vs. 14%) fractures. Fifty-seven children had intracranial hemorrhages (32%) but only 8 patients required non-emergent surgery for depressed fractures. Admission to the trauma service increased from none to 76% with phone follow-ups increasing from 12% to 91%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Instituting a protocol allowed a safer management of patients with SF. Moreover, we argue that asymptomatic infants with isolated SF can be safely discharged home after brief observation in the ED.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, 3175 Ch de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3T 1C5. Electronic address: anissa.addioui@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Anissa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Addioui
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, 3175 Ch de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3T 1C5. Electronic address: dickens_saint-vil@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Dickens
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saint-Vil
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, 3175 Ch de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3T 1C5. Electronic address: louis.crevier.hsj@sssss.gouv.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crevier
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, 3175 Ch de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3T 1C5. Electronic address: mariannebeaudin333@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beaudin
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D057832:Watchful Waiting
keywords: Head trauma; Infants; Skull fracture