Dr David Segal
Tel- Aviv University, Israel
Title: Trends in the epidemiology of pediatric fractures- summer vacation as a protective factor
Biography
Biography: Dr David Segal
Abstract
Introduction: It is known that the incidence of pediatric fractures varies throughout the year and peaks during the summer. Changes in behavior patterns of children have led to a suspicion that this variation has changed.
Methods: A retrospective record review of all patients between the ages of 0-16 that were diagnosed with fractures in the ER of a level 1 orthopaedic trauma center was conducted. The fractures were stratified according to patients' variants, the injury locations, and the hour, day and month with respect to holidays, weekends and weather.
Results: 3264 fractures were collected. While the fracture rate on school days was 6.9 per day, the rate during the summer vacation was 4.7 (P<0.0001). The hours at which children addressed the ER were also different. The gender, age, and fracture location distributions were similar to previous reports.
Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first report of summer vacation being protective against fractures in children in comparison with schooldays. Our findings stand in contrast with most previous publications, but correlates with a recent report of a wane in the increase of fracture rates at peak summer. This decrease might be the outcome of a lack of both spontaneous and pre-planned physical activities during long vacations, replaced by sedentary activities. The similarity of weekends to schooldays rather than to vacations implies a behavioral difference between solitary unstructured days and long vacations. We offer feedback to all authorities engaged in physical activity planning for children. In order for the benefits of participation in sports keep outweigh the risk for injuries, strict safety measures need to be applied. The void in summer activities, although apparently being "safe", should be filled with planned and supervised activities. Our findings can also assist in planning the medical workforce in the ER, and in further understanding of behavioral trends in the pediatric population.