Title:Pediatric Trauma - A Silent Epidemic
Volume: 20
Issue: 4
Author(s): Neha Thakur*, Narendra Rai, Samir Misra and Maitreyi Misra
Affiliation:
- Department of Paediatrics, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226010, Uttar Pradesh, India
Keywords:
Trauma, children, road traffic accidents, prevention, programmes, epidemiology.
Abstract: Trauma is the leading cause of preventable deaths in children all over the world. In the
majority of cases, children are innocent victims of road traffic accidents. They suffer from both
short-term and long-term impacts of trauma. Deaths from road traffic accidents can be prevented by
adopting simple road safety measures and the use of protective equipment. Worldwide programs
have been initiated to curb this ever-rising menace; however, the success of these programs depends
on their outreach and acceptance among the population in general. Golden hours in trauma management
is the initial hour post-trauma, the success of resuscitation depends on the appropriate
management of pediatric trauma victims in hospitals dedicated to the management of pediatric
trauma victims. The current review highlights the epidemiology, pattern of injury, road safety
measures, and global health initiatives for the prevention of accident-related injury in children. The
shortcomings of this review are as follows- Firstly pediatric trauma is an exhaustive topic, it is impossible
to cover all aspects of pediatric trauma. Thus, the review might have missed some important
aspects of pediatric trauma. Secondly, the concept of a pediatric trauma registry is nonexistent
in almost all developing countries; hence a true picture of pediatric trauma epidemiology and
injury patterns is missing. Thirdly not much work has been done on pediatric trauma in developing
countries leading to insufficient data from these countries.
