Epidemiological profile of unintentional accidents in children over a period of 4 years

Abstract

Background: Unintentional injuries are one of the most important public health problems among children in developed and some developing countries. Aim: Our purpose is to determine the prevalence of everyday life unintentional injuries among children admitted for at least 24 hours in the pediatric surgical emergencies (PSE) department, Children’s hospital of Rabat, Morocco. Methods: A cross-sectional study of unintentional injuries in children was undertaken over 4 years (2016- 2019) in the pediatric surgical emergencies (PSE) department, Children’s hospital of Rabat, Morocco. The data were analysed by statistical software Jamovi 1.6.23. Drownings and foreign bodies were excluded. Results: 1204 patients were screened, of which 545 files were studied. The median age was 8 years[4;12] with 36,5% were less than 6 years old, 70,4% were boys. The most injuries occurred mostly during winters and summers (41,6 vs 33,8%). The medical insurance plan was provided by compulsory medical insurance (AMO) and RAMED (Medical Assistance Scheme) (30,4% and 46.5% respectively). The main circumstances were accidents of everyday life (52%) with predominance of falls. For the public road accident, pedestrians were predominant. Hospital stay did not exceed 24 hours (73%) mainly in the surgical emergency department.

Keywords

• injuries
• child
• unintentional trauma
• public health
• morocco