Trampoline-related fractures on the rise

1. Between the years 2008 and 2017, researchers noted a significant rise in the number of trampoline-related fractures.

2. Though still most commonly occurring at home, trampoline-related fractures became more common at places of organized sport or recreation over the course of the decade observed.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Study Rundown: According to prior research, trampoline-related injuries accounted for about 1 million emergency department (ED) visits resulting in an estimated $1 billion in health care costs between the years 2002 to 2011. In this study, authors provide updated data regarding trends in trampoline injuries over the last decade. Using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), researchers discovered an annual increase of 3.85% per person-year in trampoline-related pediatric fractures from 2008 to 2017. Though the rate of admission for trampoline-related fractures was low, the study did not record which patients had multiple injuries, only codifying patients by their single, most serious injury, with the most commonly injured site being the upper extremity. While home was still the most common location at which injuries occurred, there was an overall decrease in the rate of trampoline-related injuries occurring at home, with a significant uptrend in injuries occurring at locations of organized sport or recreation. Though this study provides only a partial picture of all injuries sustained while on trampolines, it does uniquely demonstrate a need for increased safety awareness when attending public sports or recreation facilities, given the rising rate of injuries at these facilities.

Click here to read the original article, published today in Pediatrics

Relevant Reading: Orthopedic injuries associated with backyard trampoline use in children

In-Depth [retrospective cohort]: Researchers reviewed data from the NEISS, a national database that includes 100 hospitals in both rural and urban areas and both adult and pediatric-specific facilities, from the years 2008 to 2017. Researchers found that there were an estimated 989 338 pediatric (ages 0-17 years) trampoline-related ED visits during the decade in question. Fractures represented 26.9% (n = 266 373) of these visits; 47.17% of the patients were female, 60.3% were white, and 11.7% required hospital admission. Of those patients with fractures, the most common site of injury affected was the upper extremity (56.3%; 95%CI: 54.5%–58.0%), followed by the lower extremity (37.0%; 95%CI: 35.2%–38.8%), and the axial skeleton (6.8%; 95%CI: 6.2%–7.3%).  Pediatric trampoline fractures, specifically, were most likely to occur at home, though this proportion decreased throughout the decade evaluated. In contrast, researchers noted an increase in fractures occurring at a place of organized recreation or sport (OR per year: 1.32; 95%CI: 1.21–1.43; P > .0001) throughout the decade, which translated to an average increase of 32% per year during the decade evaluated.

Image: PD

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