Home Accidents among Children: A Retrospective Study at a Tertiary Care Center in Oman
lya Al Rumhi, Huda Al Awisi, Mahmood Al Buwaiqi, Salim Al Rabaani
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We sought to identify the prevalence, commonest causes, and severity of home accident injuries and their effects on children who present to the emergency department (ED) of a university-tertiary hospital in Oman. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study among children aged ≤ 18 years old who presented with home accidents to the ED between January and June 2017. A checklist for data collection was designed to include demographic data, causes and effects of home accidents, and treatment outcomes. The data was retrieved from the hospital electronic patient records. RESULTS: struck by/against-animate/inanimate mechanical force' in 201 (15.1%) children. 'Poisoning' was the third major cause in 117 (8.8%) children. Severity scale showed that around 36.0% of children suffered from severe injuries and 5.4% were admitted to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Despite this study being a single-center study in Oman, it indicates a high prevalence and severity of unintentional home accidents among children. The study findings suggest the need for implementing strategies to raise public awareness of child safety at home and to improve the preparedness of healthcare providers in ED to deal with such accidents.