Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1992
Risk factors for childhood sledding injuries: a case-control study.
We report the results of a case-control study designed to identify modifiable risk factors for childhood sledding injuries. Cases included all children injured while sledding (n = 17) during a five-day winter storm who presented for care to a Seattle pediatric emergency department. Two controls were chosen randomly for each case from children who presented to the same emergency department during the ensuing two months for any illness that did not require hospitalization. ⋯ Analysis of risk factors revealed a significant increase in risk of injury for children who sledded in streets versus those who sledded in a park (OR = 5.1; 95% CI = 1.1-24.1), those who sledded without adult supervision (OR = 5.6; 95% CI = 1.1-26.9), and those whose parents had an annual income > or = $50,000 (OR = 5.7; 95% CI = 1.5-20.8). No difference in risk of injury was found regarding the type of sled used, the number of children, or their position on the sled or for those children with a history of prior sledding experience. We conclude that safe alternatives to sledding in the streets and an increase in adult supervision may reduce the number of childhood sledding injuries.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1992
Mass illness at an intermediate school: toxic fumes or epidemic hysteria?
The report of an acute illness involving a large number of clustered children will undoubtedly provoke an urgent emergency care response or, in some instances, a mass casualty or disaster response. While responding to the perceived needs of those involved, the professionals caring for these children must consider epidemic hysteria along with the other causes of mass illness. Since the early recognition of epidemic or mass anxiety hysteria can have tremendous impact on the ease of treating this problem, that awareness is quite important.