[Bicycle spoke-related injuries in children: emphasise prevention]

Abstract

Three children, a 6-year-old boy and two girls aged 5 and 4 years, were seen at an emergency department due to distal lower-leg injuries sustained from the spokes of bicycle wheels. All three patients had been passengers on rear carrying seats of moving bicycles. Only the third bicyclist had used a special child safety seat. The second girl had drawn her foot up from underneath a strap and suffered a tibial fracture later treated with an osteosynthetic plate. The other two patients recovered after conservative casting treatment. Bicycle spoke-related injuries are sustained when the foot or lower limb makes contact with the spokes of a bicycle wheel and usually by children who are bicycle passengers. In the Netherlands, approximately 4600 children are seen at emergency departments with such injuries each year. Bicycle spoke-related accidents can cause severe damage that can result in lengthy recovery periods. Not only physical complications but also psychological ones can occur. The latter are often overlooked but do deserve proper treatment. The physician treating a spoke-related injury is in a good position to advice parents as to preventive measures, particularly on the use of special child safety seats.