Pediatric injury care, how to improve it?
Personal injury is the number one cause of death among children 1 to 18 year old in America. Every year, 1 out of 4 children will end up at the emergency room to be treated for unintentional or intentional injury. Some of them will end up with lifelong disabilities. On average, the American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that $50 billion is spent each year in the US to care for injured children. Children’s injuries often cause emotional distress not only to the child but also to the family. The financial burden caused by injured children often add to the existing stress caused by the injury itself.
Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics published Best Practices for Pediatric Injury Care. In their guidelines, the lead authors David W. Tuggle, MD, FAAP, FACS and Sally K. Snow, RN, BSN, CPEN, FAEN recommend that:
- A pediatric trauma system be included in every emergency medical service (EMS) or hospital