title: Pediatric temporal bone fractures: A case series.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Temporal bone fractures are relatively common findings in patients with head trauma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of temporal bone fractures in the pediatric population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case series. Tertiary care pediatric academic medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of patients aged 18 years or less diagnosed with a temporal bone fracture at the Montreal Children's Hospital from January 2000 to August 2014 were reviewed. Patient demographics, clinical presentation, mechanism of injury and complications were analyzed. Imaging studies and audiograms were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 323 patients presenting to the emergency department with a skull fracture, 61 presented with a temporal bone fracture. Of these, 5 presented with bilateral fractures. 47 patients had associated fractures, and 3 patients deceased. We observed a male to female ratio of 2.8:1, and the average age was 9.5 years. Motor vehicle accidents were the primary mechanism of injury (53%), followed by falls (21%) and bicycle or skateboard accidents (10%). The most common presenting signs included hemotympanum, decreased or loss of consciousness, facial swelling and nausea and vomiting. 8 patients had otic involvement on computed tomography scans, and 30 patients had documented hearing loss near the time of accident with a majority being conductive hearing loss. 17 patients underwent surgical management of intracranial pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In children, fractures of the temporal bone were most often caused by motor vehicle accidents and falls. It is common for these patients to have associated fractures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waissbluth
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ywakim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Al Qassabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Torabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carpineta
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manoukian
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: lily.hp.nguyen@gmail.com.
authors.forename: L H P
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000058:Accidental Falls; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000293:injuries*; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers
keywords: Fracture; Pediatric; Skull; Temporal