Irish medical journal
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Irish medical journal · May 2009
Preventing unintentional injury in children and adolescents--the importance of local injury data collection.
We sought to prospectively study all injuries in children and adolescents up to 16 years of age presenting to a regional Emergency Department (ED), to ascertain detailed injury patterns and to use this data to recommend injury prevention priorities. Electronic injury surveillance was prospectively collected over a 10 year period (1997-2007) in a hospital with a paediatric catchment population of 75,000 in a region with pockets of high social deprivation. All fatalities were obtained from data provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). ⋯ Cyclist injuries (n=477) indicated low documented use of appropriate helmet wear. Prevention priorities should focus on home injuries, hot liquid burn and scald injuries and high falls from walls, beds and playground equipment. To prevent road-related injuries and deaths, further legislation, urban planning and greater police enforcement is required.