Citation

Abraham VM, Gaw CE, Chounthirath T, Smith GA. Clin. Pediatr. 2014; 54(2): 127-137.

Affiliation

Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA Child Injury Prevention Alliance, Columbus, OH, USA gary.smith@nationwidechildrens.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0009922814561353

PMID

25452624

Abstract

This study investigates the epidemiology of injuries associated with toys among US children by analyzing data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. During 1990-2011, an estimated 3 278 073 (95% confidence interval = 2 762 281-3 793 865) children <18 years old were treated in US emergency departments for toy-related injuries, averaging 149 003 cases annually. The annual injury rate per 10 000 children increased significantly by 39.9% from 18.88 in 1990 to 26.42 in 2011. The number and rate of injuries peaked at age 2 years; 63.4% of patients were male; and 80.3% of injuries occurred at home. Ride-on toys accounted for 34.9% of injuries and 42.5% of hospital admissions. This study is the first to comprehensively investigate toy-related injuries among children using a nationally representative data set. The increasing number and rate of toy-related injuries to children, especially those associated with ride-on toys, underscore the need for increased efforts to prevent these injuries.

Language: en