Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34630781›Full record

ArticlePaediatrics & child health2021

Paediatric injuries due to falls from windows and balconies: an 8-year prospective and retrospective review.

Manasi Rajagopal, Manu Kundra, Neelam Mabood, Samina Ali, Tara Rankin, Nadia Dow, William Craig

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Paediatrics & child health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Manasi RajagopalDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.
Manu KundraDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.
Neelam MaboodCanadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta.
Samina AliDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0595-364X
Tara RankinCanadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta.
Nadia DowStollery Children's Hospital, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta.
William CraigDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4804-194X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUnintentional falls from windows and balconies pose a serious health risk to children. Limited Canadian data describing such falls currently exist. This study aimed to describe the frequency, demographic characteristics, injury patterns, and risk factors associated with paediatric falls from windows and balconies.

methodsThis study employed both prospective data collection and retrospective medical record review. Prospectively, consenting families were enrolled from February 2015 to February 2017; retrospectively, charts from January 2009 to December 2014 were reviewed. Children 0 to 16 years of age, who presented to the Stollery Children's Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta) emergency department due to a fall from a window or balcony, were included.

resultsA total of 102 children were included; thirty were enrolled prospectively and 72 retrospectively. Median age was 4.5 years (interquartile range 2.83 to 6.83) with 63.7% (65 of 102) males. About 87.2% (89 of 102) of falls were from windows and 12.8% (13 of 102) from balconies. The median estimated height of fall was 4.1 m (interquartile range 3.04 to 4.73). About 58.4% (59 of 101) had at least one major injury (i.e., concussion, fractured skull, internal injury, fractured limb, severe laceration), 36.6% had minor injuries only (i.e., abrasions, contusions, sprains), and 5.0% had no documented injuries. There were no fatalities. About 30.4% (31 of 102) were admitted, with 48.4% of these children (15 of 31) requiring surgery.

conclusionMost falls from windows and balconies occurred in children under the age of 5 years and were associated with serious morbidity, high admission rates, and need for surgery. Child supervision as well as installation of key safety features in windows may help minimize paediatric fall-related injuries.

Indexed as

Accidental fallsBalconiesEpidemiologic surveillancePaediatric emergency medicinePaediatricsWindows

Identifiers

PMID34630781
PMCPMC8496161

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.