Seat belt injuries could signal more serious trauma in children

Ill-fitting seatbelts raise the risk of serious injury to children involved in car accidents. And seat belt injuries should alert physicians to look for signs of more serious consequences, particularly spinal cord injury, which is not always immediately apparent.

“Unless physicians are diligent, spinal-cord injuries are hard to diagnose in children. In the event of a car accident, seat belt injuries such as bruising and tenderness should warrant a search for other injuries, including spinal-cord injury, vertebral fractures and intra-abdominal injuries. If spinal-cord injury is missed or not diagnosed early, the consequences can be devastating,” said Harsh Grewal, M.D., in a report published in August issue of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine.

Grewal, a pediatric surgeon at Temple University School of Medicine and Hospital, and his colleagues reviewed 10 years’ worth of medical literature on motor vehicle accidents and children. They found that children involved in car accidents who were inappropriately seatbelted were at higher risk for “seat-belt syndrome,” a complex of injuries to the spine and abdomen. Consequently, when healthcare professionals see bruising or seat belt marks in pediatric car accident victims, they should have a high degree of suspicion about more serious injury.

Car accidents, the most common cause of injury and death in children, are also the most common cause of spinal cord injury in children and adolescents. Boys are more affected than girls, and the incidence increases with age. Children who are 4 to 8 years old are most likely to be using ill-fitting seatbelts or restraints.

Grewal recommends that an evaluation of a child or adolescent car-accident victim include a complete work-up for vertebral, spinal cord and intra-abdominal injuries. In addition to bruises or marks from the seat belt, clues of more serious injury include abdominal and/or spine tenderness, and neurological deficits. Ideal treatment of possible spinal-cord injury starts at the scene of the accident with proper stabilization and transportation of the victims. If a child with a spinal fracture has not been stabilized properly, movement can injure more tissue.

In general, seat belts and safety restraints should be adjusted according to age and weight.

Source: Temple University

Related stories:

More off-premise alcohol outlets can lead to more injuries among neighborhood children
Childhood injuries constitute a serious issue in the United States. In 2001, there were 12,249 deaths among children ages one to 14: injuries were the leading cause, accounting for 33.2 percent of all deaths for children ages one to four, and 39.4 percent of all deaths for children ages five to 14. A new study has found that numerous off-premise alcohol outlets in neighborhoods can reduce overall guardianship of children's activities, leading to increased injuries.
Child safety seats and lap-and-shoulder belts effective in preventing serious injury
For young children, all states currently require the use of child safety seats, and the minimum age and weight requirements to graduate to seat belts has been increasing over time. A new study in the journal Economic Inquiry reveals that lap-and-shoulder seat belts perform as well as child safety seats in preventing serious injury. However, safety seats tend to be better at reducing less serious injuries.
Pregnancy situations have impact on brain development in pre-term infants
Brain development in infants who are born very prematurely is still incomplete. Factors that cause premature birth may have an impact on the development of the premature infant's brain both during pregnancy and later on after birth. A project conducted as part of the Academy of Finland Research Programme on Neuroscience (NEURO) is concerned to study brain growth and development invery premature or low-weight infants.
First national study of diving-related injuries
If it's at the Olympic Games or at the neighborhood pool, diving is one of the fastest growing sports in this country. Every day millions of people do it and every four years during the Olympics, billions of people watch it. So it might surprise you that researchers are just now delving into the dangers of diving boards.
From beach to backyard, caution can reduce firepit burns
Backyard barbecues and beach bonfires are beloved summer activities across the country, but they also put people – especially children – at risk of painful, long-term injury.
Severe retinal hemorrhaging is linked to severe motor vehicle crashes
The severity of retinal hemorrhaging for young children in motor vehicle crashes is closely correlated to the severity of the crash, according to a new study by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Retinal hemorrhages occur when the blood vessels lining the retina rupture, resulting in bleeding onto the surface of the retina.
Government resources urgently needed to reduce childhood injury, say experts
Editorial: Preventing injury in childhood
Childhood injury surveillance in the UK is under-resourced and lags behind other European countries, say experts in this week's BMJ, ahead of UK Child Safety Week on 23 June.
Health varies widely across different regions of Mexico
A new study of the burden of disease and injury across Mexico has found that the south suffers the highest rates of infectious and nutritional diseases, injuries, and non-communicable diseases. The study, by researchers at Harvard University, the World Health Organization (WHO), and Mexico's National Institute of Public Health, is reported in this week's PLoS Medicine.

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news