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A renewed focus on pediatric injury prevention

Pediatric Research volume 95, pages 7–8 (2024)Cite this article

The leading cause of death in the United States (US) for children over one year of age is injury.1 These deaths often occur in healthy children, have an unquantifiable societal impact, and are mostly preventable. The Haddon matrix, introduced in 1970, provides a framework for preventing injuries that includes focusing on the host (e.g., person at risk of injury), agent of injury (e.g. motor vehicle, firearm, etc.), physical environment (e.g. bike lanes, helmets, etc.), and social environment (e.g. laws and policies, school zones, etc.) in the pre-event, event, and post-event phases of injury.2 The article by Ciaraglia, et al. entitled “Comparison of Helicopter and Ground Transportation in Pediatric Trauma Patients” is an example of addressing the social environment in the post-event phase to decrease the morbidity and mortality of injured patients by improving access to trauma hospitals through appropriate transportation after injuries.

Ciaraglia, et al. use a retrospective cohort from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) to assess the impact of transport type on in-hospital mortality and discharge home without need for medical services (DCHWOS) for pediatric patients with traumatic injuries transported from the scene. Analyzing a propensity-score matched cohort with similar injury type and severity, the authors found that patients transported by helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) had lower in-hospital mortality and higher rate of DCHWOS than those transported by ground emergency medical services (GEMS). The exact patient- or HEMS-specific factors associated with these results cannot be elucidated from this dataset and require further study. Regardless, their findings highlight the importance of prehospital triage and research-informed decisions around mode of transport and the importance of equitable access to HEMS services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Holly R. Hanson, Alexandra L. Cheetham & Wendy J. Pomerantz

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  1. Holly R. Hanson
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  2. Alexandra L. Cheetham
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  3. Wendy J. Pomerantz
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Correspondence to Holly R. Hanson.

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Hanson, H.R., Cheetham, A.L. & Pomerantz, W.J. A renewed focus on pediatric injury prevention. Pediatr Res 95, 7–8 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02936-0

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