Children and adolescents admitted to a university-level trauma centre in Denmark 2002-2011

INTRODUCTION: The epidemiology of children or adolescents admitted to a Scandinavian trauma centre is largely unknown. The aim of this paper was to describe the epidemiology and severity of potentially severely injured children and adolescents admitted to a university hospital trauma centre. METHODS: This was a descriptive study of all children and adolescents aged 0-17 admitted to the university level trauma centre at Odense University Hospital, Denmark in the 2002-2011 period. Data were extracted from the Southern Danish Trauma Register and from medical records. RESULTS: A total of 950 children and adolescents were included. The median age was 13 (range: 0-17) years. Boys accounted for 60.6% of the cases. Accidents accounted for 97.2%, violence 1.4% and self-inflicted injuries 0.4%. More than three fourths of the injuries occurred either in traffic or at home. The occurrence was greatest in the summer (34.0%), during weekends (48.9%) and in the hours between 12.00 and 20.00 (59.2%). Overall, 58.5% of the injuries were due to traffic. Of these injuries, 39.7% were injuries suffered by passengers in motor vehicles, 27.5% drivers/passengers of a scooter/MC, 21.8% bicyclists and 10.3% pedestrians. The median Injury Severity Score (ISS) and Abbreviated Injury Scale was 4 (range: 1-75) and 2 (range: 1-6), respectively. Head/face injuries accounted for 36.5% and injuries to the extremities for 30.9% of all injuries. A total of 153 (16.1%) suffered from severe injuries (ISS > 15). Overall, 49 (5.2%) died due to their injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Based on a local trauma register, we described the epidemiology and severity of potentially severely injured children and adolescents admitted to a university trauma centre.