%0 Journal Article
%T Childhood falls with occipital impacts
%J Pediatric emergency care
%D 2018
%A Atkinson, Norrell
%A van Rijn, Rick R.
%A Starling, Suzanne P.
%V 34
%N 12
%P 837-841
%X OBJECTIVES: Falls are commonly reported in children who present with both accidental and inflicted brain injuries. Short falls rarely result in serious or life-threatening injuries. Our purpose is to describe a series of cases of short falls with occipital impact leading to subdural hemorrhage (SDH). <br><br>METHODS: We present a series of 8 witnessed accounts of young children diagnosed as having SDHs after striking the back of their heads during a short fall. Child-abuse physicians were surveyed to determine if they had evaluated a child younger than 24 months diagnosed as having SDH, with or without retinal hemorrhages, following a witnessed fall with occipital impact. Submitted cases were analyzed. <br><br>RESULTS: The median age of the children was 12.5 months. All fell backward from a standing or seated position onto a hard surface and immediately developed symptoms. There was an average of 4 witnesses per case. Physical examinations were normal; however, the majority of children had enlarged head circumferences. All were previously healthy. Six of 8 children had unilateral convexity SDH. All children had varying degrees of retinal hemorrhage but no retinoschisis. The majority of children had returned to their baseline within 24 hours of hospitalization. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Although a larger study is needed to identify the full spectrum of injuries, we postulate that, if a history of a fall with an occipital impact is elicited during a trauma workup, accidental injury should be considered.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
%@ 0749-5161
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PEC.0000000000001186