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Toy-related injuries treated in ED grew by 61% during 22-year span
Study findings published in Clinical Pediatrics show toy-related injuries significantly increased from 1990 to 2011, suggesting increased efforts are needed to prevent such injuries, particularly those associated with ride-on toys.
Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH, professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University, and colleagues retrospectively assessed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for toy-related injuries among children aged younger than 18 years admitted to US EDs from 1990 through 2011.
Gary A. Smith
During the time frame, 3,278,078 children were treated at EDs for toy-related injuries, indicating an average of 149,003 injuries per year. The mean age of children with toy-related injuries was 5.6 years, and 50.5% of toy-related injuries occurred among children aged younger than 5 years.
The annual number of toy-related injuries increased by 61.1% during the study period, from 121,249 injuries in 1990 to 195,363 in 2011 (P<.001).
“On average in 2011, a child received treatment in a US ED for a toy-related injury every 3 minutes,” Smith and colleagues wrote.
Annual injury rates increased by 39.9% during the study period, from 18.9 injuries per 10,000 children to 26.4 injuries per 10,000 children.
“The increase in the annual number and rate of toy-related injuries after 1999 were driven by injuries associated with nonmotorized scooters,” according to the researchers.
Injuries associated with ride-on toys increased by 73.7% during the study period, from 41,418 injuries to 71,929 injuries (P<.001).
Compared with other toys, injuries related to ride-on toys were 1.38 times more likely to result in hospital admission. Ride-on toy injuries accounted for 34.9% of all toy-related injuries and 42.5% of all hospital admissions. Nonspecific toys accounted for 40.8% of toy-related injuries.
“The frequency and increasing rate of injuries to children associated with toys, especially those associated with foot-powered scooters, is concerning,” Smith said in a press release. “This underscores the need for increased efforts to prevent these injuries to children. Important opportunities exist for improvements in toy safety standards, product design, recall effectiveness and consumer education.”
Health care professionals should proactively educate parents and caregivers about toy-related, injury-prevention strategies, the investigators suggested.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
