Injuries from trending active play products in children and adolescents.

Abstract

Introduction: Trend products such as trampolines and roller skates may result in child injuries. This study aimed to describe the development of product-related injuries and the pattern of lesions associated with six different trend products among children and adolescents in an urban Danish population from 1980 to 2021.

Methods: We included all children and adolescents aged 0-17 years treated for injuries associated with bouncy castles, play stands, roller skates, scooters, skateboards and trampolines from 1980 to 2021. From the emergency departments at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, we extracted information on the date of injury, diagnosis and severity. We estimated annual incidence rates (IRs) for each product.

Results: We included a total of 19,207 cases. The overall injury IRs per 10,000 population/years were 68.3 (95% confidence interval (CI): 67.0-69.6) for play stands, 21.9 (95% CI: 21.2-22.7) trampolines, 13.1 (95% CI: 12.5-13.6) roller skates, 8.0 (95% CI: 7.6-8.5) for skateboards, 7.0 (95% CI: 6.6-7.4) for scooters and 5.5 (95% CI: 5.2-5.9) for bouncy castles. Play stands had a high IR during the entire study period, whereas a significant peak in IR of trampoline injuries of 61.0 (95% CI: 57.6-64.6) and scooters of 18.5 (95% CI: 16.6-20.5) occurred in the 2017-2021 period. For skateboard, roller skate, scooter and play stand injuries, most lesions were located to the upper limbs. The lower limbs were the most frequently injured body region for the remaining products.

Conclusion: The study provides useful information for the planning of preventive campaigns.

Funding: None.

Trial registration: Not relevant.