Isolated finger injuries in children--incidence and aetiology

Abstract

Details were recorded prospectively in a specifically designed questionnaire for all children presenting to the Accident and Emergency Department with isolated finger injuries over a period of 6 months, in order to understand the incidence and aetiology. Among the 426 injuries in 283 children, most occurred at home (59%) more in the <5 year age group (38%), involving the middle finger (25%) and terminal phalanges (47%). "Jamming/crushing" was the commonest reason (48%), mostly caused by a child (59%) at the living room door (32%) and more commonly at the hinge side (49%). Nail injuries were seen in 48% of cases and 16 amputations of terminal phalanges were noticed in 15 children. Tendon injuries were only caused when cut by sharp objects, and were not caused by jamming/crushing. Both children and adults should be educated about causation, reiterating that damage to fingers can be prevented or reduced by observing safety measures.