title: Pediatric Firework-Related Injuries Presenting to United States Emergency Departments, 1990-2014.
abstract: This study characterizes the epidemiology of nonfatal pediatric firework-related injuries in the United States among children and adolescents by analyzing data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System from 1990 through 2014. During this 25-year period, an estimated 136 991 (95% CI = 113 574-160 408) children <20 years old were treated in US emergency departments for firework-related injuries. The annual injury rate decreased significantly by 30.4% during this period. Most of those injured were male (75.7%), mean patient age was 10.6 years, and 7.6% required hospital admission. The hands (30.0%) were the most commonly injured body region, followed by head and neck (22.2%), and eyes (21.5%). Sixty percent of injuries were burns. Injuries were most commonly associated with firecrackers (26.2%), aerial devices (16.3%), and sparklers (14.3%). Consumer fireworks pose a serious injury risk to pediatric users and bystanders, and families should be encouraged to attend public firework displays rather than use consumer fireworks.
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.|2 University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Rachael M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Billock
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Thiphalak
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chounthirath
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.|3 Child Injury Prevention Alliance, Columbus, OH, USA.|4 The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D000293:Adolescent; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006693:Holidays; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: burn; children; firework; holidays; recreation; trauma; wounds and injuries