Falling television related child injuries in Turkey: 10-year experience.

BACKGROUND We reviewed retrospectively TV-related injuries to determine the risk factors, type of injuries, and operative intervention(s) required in children injured by falling TVs. METHODS This was a retrospective descriptive study conducted on 42 pediatric patients who were admitted to Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Emergency Surgery Department. Case notes included all demographic and injury details, TV and TV-related furniture type, mechanism of injury, Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS), Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (PGCS), length of hospital stay, need for intensive care unit assessments, and management plans. RESULTS More than 65% of the children were aged 1 to 3 years. The injury rate was higher for boys (66.7%) than girls (33.3%). Of the 42 patients identified, 17 (40.5%) sustained only head injuries, with almost half of these having a definite traumatic brain injury; 6 (14.3%) had only thoracic injury, and 4 (9.5%) had only limb injury. The PGCS ranged from 3 to 15, with a mean of 7. The PTS ranged from -6 to 12, with a mean of 9. Five children (11.9%), all aged 2 years or younger, died in the hospital as a result of the TV-related injury, all sustaining head and thorax injuries, which are reflected in a significantly lower PTS and lower PGCS on admission compared with older children. TV falls on to children often occur because of unstable supports, with dressers and shelves being the most common. The most common mechanism of injury (71.4%) among all age groups was fall/tipping of furniture. Pulling the furniture onto oneself (19%) was the second most frequent mechanism of injury. CONCLUSION Injuries related to TV falls can lead to significant morbidity and mortality in children. As they are preventable injuries, restricted activity and improved supervision of children around the TV can potentially lead to fewer incidences.