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© 2021 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See:  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background

Globally, injuries cause >5 million deaths annually and children and young people are particularly vulnerable. Injuries are the leading cause of death in people aged 5–24 years and a leading cause of disability. In most low-income and middle-income countries where the majority of global child injury burden occurs, systems for routinely collecting injury data are limited.

Methods

A new model of injury surveillance for use in emergency departments in Nepal was designed and piloted. Data from patients presenting with injuries were collected prospectively over 12 months and used to describe the epidemiology of paediatric injury presentations.

Results

The total number of children <18 years of age presenting with injury was 2696, representing 27% of all patients presenting with injuries enrolled. Most injuries in children presenting to the emergency departments in this study were unintentional and over half of children were <10 years of age. Falls, animal bites/stings and road traffic injuries accounted for nearly 75% of all injuries with poisonings, burns and drownings presenting proportionately less often. Over half of injuries were cuts, bites and open wounds. In-hospital child mortality from injury was 1%.

Conclusion

Injuries affecting children in Nepal represent a significant burden. The data on injuries observed from falls, road traffic injuries and injuries related to animals suggest potential areas for injury prevention. This is the biggest prospective injury surveillance study in Nepal in recent years and supports the case for using injury surveillance to monitor child morbidity and mortality through improved data.

Details

Title
Epidemiology of paediatric injuries in Nepal: evidence from emergency department injury surveillance
Author
Magnus, Dan 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bhatta, Santosh 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mytton, Julie 2 ; Joshi, Elisha 3 ; Bhatta, Sumiksha 3 ; Manandhar, Sunil 4 ; Joshi, Sunil 3 

 Centre for Academic Child Health, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK 
 Centre for Academic Child Health, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK 
 Nepal Injury Research Centre, Kathmandu Medical College, Kathmandu, Nepal 
 Mother and Infant Research Activities, Kathmandu, Nepal 
Pages
1050-1055
Section
Global child health
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Nov 2021
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
ISSN
00039888
e-ISSN
14682044
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2592323672
Copyright
© 2021 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See:  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.