• James Graham, Rhonda Dick, Donna Parnell, and Mary E Aitken.
• Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA. grahamjames@uams.edu
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2006 Jan 1; 22 (1): 45-7.

ObjectivesClothesline injury to the face and neck is a unique mechanism of injury seen in children and adolescents on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The purpose of this study was to describe this serious and avoidable injury pattern.MethodsA search was made of the trauma registry at a major pediatric referral hospital for the years 1998 to 2003 to find cases of clothesline injury associated with ATV use. The data were deidentified and compiled by the research group. The study was deemed exempt by the local institutional review board.ResultsSeven cases of neck and/or facial injury were found associated with a child or adolescent on an ATV striking a wire fence or clothesline. All patients were white, including 5 boys and 2 girls. The mean age was 8 years (range, 2-14 years). In most cases (5/7), the child was driving across a field when the wire fence was struck. All patients had significant neck and/or facial lacerations, and 5 of 7 patients were taken to the operating room for wound closure. One patient had functional impairment, and all had lasting disfigurement. The mean initial hospital charges were US22,843 dollars.ConclusionsClothesline injury to the neck and face associated with ATV use in children and adolescents is a unique and serious injury mechanism. Because all of these injuries in our series occurred in young children or adolescents who were driving or riding on the front of the ATV, it emphasizes the recommendation that children and young adolescents should not ride or drive ATVs.

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