Domestic accidents by inanimate mechanical forces in children, adolescents and the young

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the profile of urgent and emergency attendances resulting from domestic accidents caused by inanimate mechanical forces in the child and juvenile population. It is a transversal study with retrospective data collection. Records of attendance resulting from domestic accidents caused by inanimate mechanical forces, among people aged up to 24 years old, attended in a public center of excellence in urgent and emergency care during 2013, were analyzed. A total of 526 accidents were studied. Among the victims, there is a prevalence of males (56.1%) and an age range from 1 to 4 years old (47.9%). The most frequent accident was penetration of a foreign body in a natural orifice, the highest proportion being among children aged from 1 to 4 years old (71.0%). A wide variety of accidents caused by inanimate mechanical forces in the domestic environment was evidenced, as was the presence of immediate physical sequelae in 0.8% of the victims. Emphasis is placed on the importance of implementing preventive measures, the only means of reducing this event, the lesions and the resulting sequelae.