The characteristics of mild head injuries in preschool-age children fall: a retrospective observational study

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Falling is a common cause of head injury in preschool aged children. We investigated the characteristics of mild head injuries caused by falling and the association between body weight and occurrence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted on head-injured preschool-aged children that visited the emergency department from January 2012 to December 2015. Characteristics such as age, sex, weight, free fall height, floor type, and presence of TBI, as defined as cerebral hemorrhage or skull fracture, were investigated. We calculated body weight percentiles by calibrating age and weight and categorized them into four quartile ranges. We grouped all included cases into two groups according to the presence of TBI. The characteristics of the two groups were compared by using chi-square test, and the association with TBI was investigated by using binomial logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 701 children were included, and TBI was observed in 95 children. Children with TBI were younger. The proportion of children with TBI was higher in the third and fourth quartiles of the body weight group as well as according to soft floor and fall from high height (≥1 m). The odds of soft floor being associated with TBI was higher than the odds for hard floor (odds ratio, 2.734; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.597–4.680). The odds of high height (≥1 m) being associated with TBI was higher than that for low height (odds ratio, 2.306; 95% CI, 1.155–4.601), and the odds ratio for the weight percentile group was 1.228 (95% CI, 1.005–1.499). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of TBI after falling in preschool-aged children might be associated with high fall-height and body weight quartiles.