Abstract:
Due to the lack of studies examining trauma-related injury and fatality trends and their implications on pediatric populations, this study aimed to address the gap in research and to identify the magnitude and the impact of unintentional injuries by exploring trends in trauma case fatalities among children in the United States from 2012 to 2016. The study uses data from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB), which is an online database with data collected from trauma hospitals within the United States. Joinpoint regression models were used to calculate Annual Percentage Change (APC) and Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) as an indicator of trends. The highest upward trends occurred in males with an average annual increase of 15.1% (AAPC, 15.1%, 95% CI, 7.1% to 26.5%), 6-year-olds with an average annual increase of 36.3% (AAPC, 36.3%, 95% CI, 18.5% to 83.0%), and 9-year-olds with an average annual increase of 36.4% (AAPC, 36.4%, 95% CI, 19.8% to 72.5%). Males (59.5%) and children ≤1 years old (20.9%) had higher percentages of trauma case fatalities. This study identified an overall increase in trauma-related fatalities in all ages and genders. However, the trends did vary. Based on the findings, there needs to be more effort towards improving access to care, EMS response times, and socioeconomic factors attributing to poor supervision of children in families. By addressing these issues, children in the United States will have improved physical and mental health outcomes. It would also reduce trauma case fatality trends in children, which would reduce mortality and disabilities associated with trauma-related incidents.
