Citation

Foltran F, Avossa F, Fedeli U, Baldi I, Spolaore P, Gregori D. Int. J. Inj. Control Safe. Promot. 2013; 20(3): 254-258.

Affiliation

a Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences , University of Padova , Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17457300.2012.692691

PMID

22640025

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the long term trend of pediatric injuries in Veneto Region (North-East of Italy) over 10 years, evaluating if seasonality in injury hospitalisations exists. Regional data on hospital admissions during the period 2000-2009 were analysed. Injury was defined as any condition identified by the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 800-999, excluding late effects from injury (ICD-9-CM codes 905-909), and complications of surgical and medical care, not classified elsewhere (ICD-9-CM code 995-999) in the first diagnostic field. Cyclic trends in seasonality of injuries were tested with Nam test. Thirty-five thousand seven hundred and fifty-one hospitalisations due to an injury have been recorded. Significant seasonal variation in hospitalisations for injuries was observed, with a summer to winter ratio ranging from 1.8 for minor injuries to 2.0 for severe injuries (p <0.001). The observed pattern of increased admission in the summer months should guide resource planning and implementation of preventive strategies.

Language: en