Characteristics and Outcome of Pediatric in a Referral Trauma Center in Iran; a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Background Pediatric trauma is the leading cause of death from early childhood through adolescence.In this study, characteristics and associated factors of pediatric trauma cases are evaluated. Methods In this cross-sectional study, demographic and clinical characteristics of 622 patients admitted to a referral hospital in Tehran, Iran are evaluated. Reported clinical characteristics include mechanism of trauma, type of trauma, ultrasonographic (US) findings, chest and abdomino-pelvic and brain computed tomography (CT) scan findings, blood hemoglobin (Hb) level, urinalysis, type of surgery, and mortality rate. Results The average age was 7.46 ± 3.64 years and the majority (63.7%) were male and endured direct trauma (36.3%). Most of our patients (n=305; 49%) were admitted in the orthopedic ward, followed by the neurosurgery ward (n=235; 37.8%). The mortality rate was 23 cases (3.7%). the lowest mortality was in the patients 11 to 15 years old (n=3; 13%), and the highest in five years and younger group (n=14; 60.9%). Conclusions Motor vehicle accidents are the leading fatal trauma injuries in children, therefore implementation of preventive measures specific to children is quite important but long overdue.