Cass D T, Ross F
Paediatric Department, Westmead Hospital, NSW.
Med J Aust. 1990 Aug 6;153(3):140, 143-4.
The recent increase in skateboard injuries is causing concern. Over a 30-month period there were 80 admissions (69 children) to Westmead Hospital because of skateboard injuries. Among children most injuries were minor, involving fractures to the upper limbs (47) or minor head injuries (8). The only serious injuries were a ruptured urethra and a closed head injury. Over the same time period skateboard riding caused five deaths in New South Wales. These all involved head injuries and in four instances collisions with cars. The data strongly support other studies that show skateboard riding is particularly dangerous near traffic and should be proscribed. However, in parkland and around the home the skateboard is an enjoyable toy with an acceptable risk of minor injury. Helmets should be worn and would have prevented all the head injury admissions in this series. Children under 10 have a higher risk of fractures and head injuries due to insufficient motor development to control the boards and the resultant falls. Skateboard injuries are an example of injuries caused by a "fad epidemic". To cope with these types of periodic events up-to-date data collection is needed, followed rapidly by an intervention programme so that serious injuries can be kept to a minimum.
近期滑板受伤事件的增加令人担忧。在30个月的时间里，有80人（69名儿童）因滑板受伤被送往韦斯特米德医院。在儿童中，大多数伤害为轻伤，包括上肢骨折（47例）或轻度头部受伤（8例）。仅有的重伤是尿道破裂和闭合性头部损伤。在同一时期，滑板骑行在新南威尔士州造成了5人死亡。这些死亡均涉及头部受伤，其中4起是与汽车相撞。这些数据有力地支持了其他研究，表明在靠近交通的地方滑板骑行特别危险，应该被禁止。然而，在公园和家中，滑板是一种有趣的玩具，造成轻伤的风险是可以接受的。应该佩戴头盔，这本可预防该系列中所有头部受伤入院的情况。10岁以下儿童因运动发育不足无法控制滑板而导致摔倒，骨折和头部受伤的风险更高。滑板受伤是“时尚流行引发的伤害”的一个例子。为应对这类周期性事件，需要及时收集数据，随后迅速开展干预项目，以便将重伤降至最低。
