Frequency of Paediatric Orthopaedic Injuries and Related Factors in One YearA Hospital in Northern Iran

Orthopedic trauma is a common injury in children and may cause deep and permanent psychological and physical damages for the patients and their families. Recognition of the incidence rate of these injuries can help design effective treatment plans. This study aimed to identify various dimensions of orthopedic trauma in children in Abu Ali Sina Hospital of Sari, Northern Iran. In this prospective descriptive study, patients under the age of 16 years with orthopedic injuries, hospitalized in Bu Ali Sina Hospital during 2015-2016 were entered into the research. Information related to the age, gender, and mechanism trauma was collected. Data analysis was performed in SPSS using Chi-square, as well as paired and one-sample t-tests. In total, 525 patients below the age of 16 years were assessed, (65.3%) with a mean age of 9.7±4.4 were male years and the rest were female (34.7%) with the mean age of 7.7±6.4 years. While most injuries in male subjects were in the age range of 14-16 years, for female participants two poaks in the age ranges of 2-4 and 14-16 years was seen. Moreover, 81.7% of the fractures were related to the upper limbs while 18.3% of the traumas were observed in the lower limbs. Furthermore, the most common location of incidents was home, and most frequent mechanism in both genders was falling (42.3%). In addition, the most common time of injuries was the fall season (44.6%). According to the results, most orthopedic trauma (56.7%) were observed in children and adolescents with normal body mass indexes, and only 8.29% of fracture cases were related to obese or overweight patients aged 2-16 years. Children are at risk of severe orthopedic trauma, which is due to lack of information, awareness, and education. Examining the safety of children and keeping them away from such injuries is essential and must be stadied in other large cities in other the developing countries.