Trends in paediatric sports-related injuries presenting to US emergency departments, 2001-2013

Abstract

This descriptive epidemiology study describes trends in paediatric sports-related injuries resulting from 21 selected sports presenting to US emergency departments (EDs) over a 13-year period. The study was a retrospective study using data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) for years 2001-2013. Inclusion criteria included people in the NEISS for injuries related to one of the 21 selected sports and between the ages of 5 and 18 years. Frequencies and linear regressions were calculated using provided sample weights. The results indicated there was a statistically significant increase of 10 010 nationally estimated selected sports-related injuries per year. Football, basketball, soccer and baseball resulted in 74.7% of the total national estimate for sports-related injuries presenting to US EDs for 2001-2013 for children aged 5-18 years. The results indicate that the number of paediatric sports-related injuries treated in US EDs has increased annually from 2001 to 2013.