Prevailing accidents with children from one to three years of age in a hospital in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2007

Abstract

This research is a quantitative and descriptive study made in a hospital in the city of Belo Horizonte. It aims to alert parents and health professionals to the most common childhood injuries happenning to children from 1 to 3 years old. The research was based in the hospital emergency care reports (from the hospital database) between January and December 2007.The data analysis was made according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10). 499 medical reports were selected, being 42% of a female patient and 58% of a male one. 64,5% of the accidents happened to infants aged between 1 to 2 years, while 35,5% to children between 2 to 3 years old. An unspecified head injury was responsible for the percentage gap between the two age groups. According to the medical diagnosis and the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 92 types of accidents were observed and organized in ten categories: transport accidents; hypothermia; choking and suffocations; poisoning; falls; fractures; burns and scalds, traumas. The research offered important data for the prevention of accidents and injuries in childhood.