RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prehospital epidemiology and management of injured children in Kigali, Rwanda
JF Emergency Medicine Journal
JO Emerg Med J
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine
SP 146
OP 150
DO 10.1136/emermed-2019-208907
VO 37
IS 3
A1 Myles Dworkin
A1 Vizir Nsengimana
A1 Ashley Rosenberg
A1 John Scott
A1 Robert Riviello
A1 Elizabeth Krebs
A1 Christian Umuhoza
A1 Edmond Ntaganda
A1 Jean Marie Uwitonze
A1 Ignace Kabagema
A1 Theophile Dushime
A1 Sudha Jayaraman
YR 2020
UL http://emj.bmj.com/content/37/3/146.abstract
AB Introduction Paediatric injuries are a major cause of mortality and disability worldwide, yet little information exists regarding its epidemiology or prehospital management in low-income and middle-income countries. We aimed to describe the paediatric injuries seen and managed by the prehospital ambulance service, Service d’Aide Medicale d’Urgence (SAMU), in Kigali, Rwanda over more than 3 years.Methods A retrospective, descriptive analysis was conducted of all injured children managed by SAMU in the prehospital setting between December 2012 and April 2016.Results SAMU responded to a total of 636 injured children, 10% of all patients seen. The incidence of paediatric injury in Kigali, Rwanda was 140 injuries per 100 000 children. 65% were male and the average age 13.5 (±5.3). Most patients were between 15 and 19 years old (56%). The most common causes of injuries were road traffic incidents (RTIs) (447, 72%), falls (70, 11%) and assaults (50, 8%). Most RTIs involved pedestrians (251, 56%), while 15% (65) involved a bicycle. Anatomical injuries included trauma to the head (330, 52%), lower limb (280, 44%) and upper limb (179, 28%). Common interventions included provision of pain medications (445, 70%), intravenous fluids (217, 34%) and stabilisation with cervical collar (190, 30%).Conclusion In Kigali, RTIs were the most frequent cause of injuries to children requiring prehospital response with most RTIs involving pedestrians. Rwanda has recently instituted several programmes to reduce the impact of paediatric injuries especially with regard to RTIs. These include changes in traffic laws and increased road safety initiatives.