Pediatric Lawn-Mower Injuries Presenting at a Level-I Trauma Center, 1995 to 2015: A Danger to Our Youngest Children.

BACKGROUND

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children 0 to 18 years of age in the U.S. An estimated 9,400 to 17,000 pediatric lawn-mower injuries occur each year. The aims of this study were to better define the epidemiology of lawn-mower injuries and to identify predictors of severe lawn-mower injuries to optimize public education and injury prevention.

METHODS

All patients 0 to 18 years of age who presented to Children's Mercy Hospital (CMH), Kansas City, Missouri, during the period of 1995 to 2015 after sustaining a lawn-mower injury were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes. Demographic information and data regarding primary outcome measures (death, amputation, need for prosthesis, Injury Severity Score [ISS]) and secondary outcome measures were collected. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors for severe lawn-mower injuries.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty-seven patients were identified, with a bimodal age distribution peaking at 4 and 15 years of age. Seventy-five percent of the subjects were male. Sixty-six percent of the patients were admitted to the hospital, with a mean length of stay of 6 days. An average of 3 operations were performed. Nineteen percent of the patients lived in a nonmetro/rural location. Lower-extremity injuries were most prevalent, affecting 84% of the patients. Forty percent of the patients experienced at least 1 traumatic amputation. Thirteen percent of the patients required a prosthesis after the injury. The average ISS was 8. Significant predictors of a higher ISS included an age of 0 to 9 years, a riding lawn mower, a grandparent operator, and a nonmetro/rural location. Younger children were more likely to be injured from a riding lawn mower, be the passenger of the mower or a bystander, be injured with a grandparent operator, and live in a nonmetro/rural location. Younger children also had a higher ISS and amputation rate, longer LOS, and more surgical procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

Education to protect younger patients should target parent, grandparent, and older sibling operators. Education for the older, teenage group should include safe mowing techniques. Efforts should also target nonmetro/rural populations and grandparents, specifically highlighting the severe dangers of riding lawn mowers when young children are passengers or bystanders.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.