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Outcomes From Television Sets Toppling Onto Toddlers
Carla DiScala, PhD;
Martha Barthel, RN, MSN;
Robert Sege, MD, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:145-148.
Objective To assess outcomes of trauma caused by television sets falling onto
children.
Methods Retrospective review of medical charts of 183 children aged 7 years
and younger hospitalized for injuries caused by falling television sets. Descriptive
statistics were applied.
Data Sources Phase 2 (1988-1995) and phase 3 (1995-1999) of the National Pediatric
Trauma Registry.
Outcome Measures Demographics, injured body region, injury severity measured by the Injury
Severity Score, length of hospital stay, admission to the intensive care unit,
surgical intervention, in-hospital death rate, disability resulting from the
injury, and disposition at discharge from the hospital.
Results The sample population represented 0.5% of all National Pediatric Trauma
Registry admissions in this age group. More than half (57.4%) of the children
were boys, and more than three quarters (76.0%) were 1 to 4 years of age.
In most cases (95.1%), the injury occurred at home. Most children (68.3%)
sustained head injury, and 43.7% sustained injuries to multiple body regions.
More than a quarter (28.4%) of the children had injuries of moderate to critical
severity (Injury Severity Score, 10-75), about a third (31.1%) required admission
to the intensive care unit, and 20.2% needed 1 or more surgical interventions.
The average length of hospitalization was 3.3 days. Five children (2.7%) died,
and 48 (26.2%) developed functional limitations, which required discharge
to a rehabilitation facility in 5 cases. Most (94.0%) of the children returned
to their home. The proportion of television set–related injuries increased
more than 100% during the study period.
Conclusions The injuries reported are not trivial. Not only did they require hospitalization,
but they also resulted in an in-hospital death rate comparable to the 2.5%
rate observed in children of the same age group injured by unintentional blunt
trauma, inclusive of motor vehicle traffic–related injuries. Since virtually
all American children are at risk for such injury, we suggest that television
set designs be modified to reduce the incidence and severity of the problem.
From the New England Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Tufts
University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass (Drs DiScala and Sege); and Department
of Pediatrics, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill (Ms Barthel).
Corresponding author and reprints: Carla DiScala, PhD, New England
Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine,
750 Washington St, Campus Box 75K/R, Boston, MA 02111 (e-mail: cdiscala_tra{at}opal.tufts.edu).
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