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. 2021 Dec 4;8(12):1131.
doi: 10.3390/children8121131.

Trauma in Children during Lockdown for SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. A Brief Report

Daniela Dibello  1 , Marcella Salvemini  1 , Carlo Amati  1 , Antonio Colella  1 , Giusi Graziano  2 , Giovanni Vicenti  2 , Biagio Moretti  2 , Federica Pederiva  3
Affiliations

Trauma in Children during Lockdown for SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. A Brief Report

Daniela Dibello et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Purpose: The national lockdown established by the Italian government began on the 11th of March 2020 as a means to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The purpose of this brief report is to evaluate the effect of the national lockdown on the occurrence and characteristics of trauma in children during lockdown.

Methods: All children admitted to our paediatric orthopaedic unit with a diagnosis of fracture or trauma, including sprains and contusions, between 11 March 2020 and 11 April 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. Their demographic data, type of injury, anatomical location and need for hospitalisation were compared with the equivalent data of children admitted for trauma in the same period of 2018 and 2019.

Results: Sixty-nine patients with trauma were admitted in 2020, with a significant decrease in comparison with 2019 (n = 261) and 2018 (n = 289) (p < 0.01). The patients were significantly younger, and the rate of fractures significantly increased in 2020 (p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Home confinement decreased admissions to the emergency department for trauma by shutting down outdoor activities, schools and sports activities. However, the rate of fractures increased in comparison with minor trauma, involved younger children and had a worse prognosis.

Keywords: SARS-Co-V-2; children; lockdown; pandemic; trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison between 2018, 2019 and 2020 in terms of type of injury and need for hospitalization (in percentages).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison between 2018, 2019 and 2020 in terms of prognosis of the trauma.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison between 2018, 2019 and 2020 in terms of place in which trauma occurred (in percentages).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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