Abstract 5 Adolescent Medicine II Platform, Monday, 5/3

INTRODUCTION: Youth sports injuries account for substantial morbidity and medical cost. In order to direct intervention, a population-based study of the causes and types of sports injuries was undertaken.

METHOD: An injury surveillance system was established at all seven trauma center hospitals that treat residents age 10-19 in Washington, DC and the Medical Examiner's Office. Medical record abstractions were completed for patients seen in an emergency department, admitted to the hospital, or who died from injury 6/96-6/98. Denominators for rates were obtained from 1997 census estimates.

FINDINGS: 18.5% (2388) of all injuries occurred while participating in one of six sports (table) resulting in an event-based injury rate of 23.3/1000/yr. Rates were higher in males for all sports. The most common mechanisms were falls (E880-888) and being struck by or against objects (E916-918). 2% of visits required hospitalization and there were no deaths. Of the requiring hospitalizations, 52% involved >1 person, 11% were equipment-related, 9% were probable assaults, and 13% occurred in inappropriate sports settings. Of all baseball injuries, 66% involved ball or bat impact often of the head. Biking injuries requiring admission included two straddle injuries onto the bike center bar and collision with motor vehicles. Of all football injuries, 46 (6.4%) involved being struck by an opponent's helmet and 69 (9.6%) involved inappropriate field conditions including falls on or against concrete, glass, or fixed objects. In soccer there were 4 goal post injuries and a large proportion of intracranial injuries. Presented below are the injury type (percent within sport): intracranial injury (ic), fracture/dislocations (fx), lacerations (lac), contusions (contus), or sprains (spr); and body location of injury (percent within sport): head, upper extremity (UE), lower extremity (LE), or torso.

Table 1 No caption available
Full size table

CONCLUSIONS: Many sports including non-contact sports involved injuries of the head suggesting the need for improved head protection. Injuries involving collisions with others and assaults suggest the need for supervision and enforcement of safety rules; equipment-related injuries suggest possible change. The many injuries involving inappropriate sports settings suggest the need for available and safe locations for sports. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention