Prevention of Unintentional Childhood Injury
Am Fam Physician. 2020 Oct 1;102(7):411-417.
Related letter: Oral and Dental Injury Prevention in Children and Adolescents
Patient information: See related handout on preventing accidental injuries in children, written by the authors of this article.
Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations.
Unintentional injury accounts for one-third of deaths in children and adolescents each year, primarily from motor vehicle crashes. Children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the back seat, and infants and toddlers should remain rear-facing until at least two years of age. Infants should be positioned on their backs in a crib, on a mattress with only a fitted sheet to avoid suffocation, and all items that could potentially entrap or entangle the child should be removed from the sleep environment. Fencing that isolates swimming pools from the house is effective in preventing drownings. Swimming lessons are recommended for all children by four years of age. Inducing vomiting after toxic ingestions is not recommended. Installing and maintaining smoke detectors, having a home escape plan, and teaching children how to respond during a fire are effective strategies for preventing fire-related injuries or death. The most effective way to prevent gun-related injuries in children and adolescents is the absence of guns from homes and communities. Family physicians should counsel patients with guns in the home to keep them locked, unloaded, and with ammunition stored in a separate locked location. Fall injuries can be reduced by avoiding walkers for infants and toddlers. Consistent helmet use while bicycling reduces head and brain injuries. Although direct counseling by physicians seems to improve some parental safety behaviors, its effect on reducing childhood injuries is unclear. Community-based interventions can be effective in high-risk populations.
Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in children and adolescents one to 19 years of age, accounting for about one-third of deaths in this population each year.1 Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of fatal injuries, followed by drowning and poisoning. Unintentional injury is the fifth leading cause of death in children younger than one year; 85% of these deaths are due to suffocation.1 Boys are nearly twice as likely as girls to have fatal injuries,1 and there are also significant racial disparities. In 2017, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children were 1.7 and 1.4 times, respectively, more likely than White children to die from unintentional injury, whereas Asian/Pacific Islander children were about half as likely as White children to have a fatal unintentional injury.1 Nonfatal injuries account for significant morbidity among children, with falls being the most common, followed by contact injuries (i.e., being struck by or against an object).1 Physicians have a pivotal role in preventing unintentional injuries in children. There are many evidence-based strategies that, when implemented, are proven to reduce morbidity and mortality from injuries (Table 1).2–13
SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE
A = consistent, good-quality patient-oriented evidence; B = inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence; C = consensus, disease-oriented evidence, usual practice, expert opinion, or case series. For information about the SORT evidence rating system, go to https://www.aafp.org/afpsort.
SORT: KEY RECOMME
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