In-line skating: a deadly pediatric activity?

OBJECTIVES

To report pediatric injuries requiring hospitalization and deaths related to in-line skating in a children's hospital and to review the trend and description of in-line skating-related pediatric deaths reported by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 1991 to 1995.

DESIGN

The medical records of patients admitted or pronounced dead at Miami Children's Hospital (MCH) related to in-line skating injuries and the NEISS national database pediatric death reports were reviewed and analyzed.

SETTING

Tertiary trauma center at a children's hospital in southern Florida and emergency departments that participated in NEISS.

PATIENTS: Pediatric patients who required admission or were pronounced dead for injuries related to in-line skating during a two-year study period at MCH. Pediatric deaths reported to NEISS related to in-line skating from 1991 to 1995.

RESULTS

Eight admissions and one death occurred at MCH and are discussed separately. The median age was 13 years with a range of four, 77% were male. NEISS had 28 cases of pediatric death reported, 96.4% were due to motor vehicle collision with the skater. The median age was 12 years, 81.5% were male. The 0- to 14-year age group represented 57.9% of all injuries in 1994, an increase of 136% from 1993.

CONCLUSION

We report a pediatric death related to in-line skating and the data from NEISS of pediatric deaths to emphasize the morbidities related to sports involving wheels. In-line skating-related injuries are increasing in the pediatric population in frequency as well as severity. The population at risk is becoming younger and thus education for injury prevention is needed.