• C DiScala, M Barthel, and R Sege.
• New England Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine, 750 Washington St, Campus Box 75K/R, Boston, MA 02111, USA. cdiscala_tra@opal.tufts.edu
• Arch Pediat Adol Med. 2001 Feb 1;155(2):145-8.

ObjectiveTo assess outcomes of trauma caused by television sets falling onto children.MethodsRetrospective review of medical charts of 183 children aged 7 years and younger hospitalized for injuries caused by falling television sets. Descriptive statistics were applied.Data SourcesPhase 2 (1988-1995) and phase 3 (1995-1999) of the National Pediatric Trauma Registry.Outcome MeasuresDemographics, injured body region, injury severity measured by the Injury Severity Score, length of hospital stay, admission to the intensive care unit, surgical intervention, in-hospital death rate, disability resulting from the injury, and disposition at discharge from the hospital.ResultsThe sample population represented 0.5% of all National Pediatric Trauma Registry admissions in this age group. More than half (57.4%) of the children were boys, and more than three quarters (76.0%) were 1 to 4 years of age. In most cases (95.1%), the injury occurred at home. Most children (68.3%) sustained head injury, and 43.7% sustained injuries to multiple body regions. More than a quarter (28.4%) of the children had injuries of moderate to critical severity (Injury Severity Score, 10-75), about a third (31.1%) required admission to the intensive care unit, and 20.2% needed 1 or more surgical interventions. The average length of hospitalization was 3.3 days. Five children (2.7%) died, and 48 (26.2%) developed functional limitations, which required discharge to a rehabilitation facility in 5 cases. Most (94.0%) of the children returned to their home. The proportion of television set-related injuries increased more than 100% during the study period.ConclusionsThe injuries reported are not trivial. Not only did they require hospitalization, but they also resulted in an in-hospital death rate comparable to the 2.5% rate observed in children of the same age group injured by unintentional blunt trauma, inclusive of motor vehicle traffic-related injuries. Since virtually all American children are at risk for such injury, we suggest that television set designs be modified to reduce the incidence and severity of the problem.

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