Citation

Choi IC, Park JW, Jung JY, Kim DK, Kwak YH, Suh D, Lee SU. J. Korean Med. Sci. 2020; 35(6): e37.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Korean Academy of Medical Science)

DOI

10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e37

PMID

32056399

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A kids café is a popular indoor playground in Korea that combines a playground for young children and a café for their caregivers. There have been no national reports about kids café-related injuries in Korea. This study investigated kids café-related injuries in Korea registered in a multicenter injury surveillance database and analyzed the risk factors for significant kids café-related injuries.

METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study was performed using the Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance registry in Korea between 2011 and 2016. Significant injury was defined as an injury requiring hospitalization or surgery. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to obtain the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for factors associated with significant kids café-related injuries.

RESULTS: Among 1,537,617 injured patients, we extracted 891 patients who were injured in kids cafés. Of these, 46 (5.2%) were admitted, and 39 (4.4%) underwent surgery. The most common injured anatomical site, injury type, and mechanism were lower extremity (28.2%), superficial injury (27.2%), and slip (27.1%), respectively. Among injury-inducing factors, significant injuries were most commonly caused by a trampoline (28.1%), and rock climbing equipment was the only risk factor in a kids café that led to significant injury after adjusting for age, sex, injury mechanism, and injured anatomical sites (aOR, 14.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.51-147.72).

CONCLUSION: The rock climbing equipment in a kids café can cause serious injury to children. Establishing safety regulations for rock climbing equipment in kids cafés may have the greatest impact in reducing significant injuries requiring hospitalization or surgery.

© 2020 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

Child; Korea; Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Play and Playthings; Wounds and Injuries