Pediatric surgery international
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Pediatr. Surg. Int. · Sep 2006
The silent epidemic of falls from buildings: analysis of risk factors.
This study wanted to search for potential risk factors associated with falls from windows and balconies in order to eventually improve prevention. All children under the age of 16 years suffering from head injuries/multiple trauma due to falls from windows or balconies treated over the last 7 years at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the University Children's Hospital Zürich were analysed retrospectively (group A). Fifty patients out of all children suffering from head injuries/multiple trauma due to other types of accidents in the same period were selected at random as controls (group B). ⋯ There were no significant differences in injured systems and in injury severity between the two groups. This study identified young age, an immigrant family setting, low socio-professional category of the parents, dangerous house constructions, inappropriate furniture placement, and summertime evenings as risk factors for serious building falls in children. This information may foster focused prevention.
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Pediatr. Surg. Int. · Sep 2006
Small bowel obstruction due to adhesions following neonatal laparotomy.
The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of small bowel obstruction (SBO) due to adhesions following laparotomy in the neonatal period. This was a retrospective study of babies born between January 1998 and November 2003 who had a trans-abdominal procedure in the neonatal period in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. Four hundred and fourteen patients had a trans-abdominal procedure during this period. ⋯ A single band caused the obstruction in eight patients (35%), multiple adhesions in six (26%), and dense adhesions in nine patients (39%). The incidence of SBO was highest following surgery for meconium ileus, followed by necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and malrotation. There were no deaths due to small bowel obstruction in this study.