Objective: To study the prevalence, patterns, and causes of fractures in children at Siriraj Hospital in the years 2006, 2009, and 2012.
Material and method: Patient records, files, and radiographs of all children under 16 years of age who had sustained a fracture and came to Siriraj Hospital in the years 2006, 2009, and 2012 were collected. The prevalence and patterns of fractures were reviewed for details, such as age at time of injury, gender, side, location, types, and causes offractures.
Results: The prevalence of the fractures in children seen in the trauma unit at Siriraj Hospital were 4.7% in 2006, 5.3% in 2009, and 5.8% in 2012. There were 716 children with 718 fractures in three one-year periods, as follows: 222 in 2006, 234 in 209, and 262 in 2012. The children consisted of 68% boys and 32% girls, of which boys represented a statistically significant difference (p = 0.013). The most common and dominant age group for fractures was 10-16 years for both boys and girls, at 47.4%. The mean age± +SD of the children was 7. ± +4.6 years old. The rate o ffracture increased with the age of the children-a statistically significant difference (p = 0.001). The rate o fopen fracture was 6.7%. The rate o fphyseal fracture was 12.4%, o fwhich type 2 was the most common at 11.3%. Fractures to the right side occurred in 53.8% o fcases, as compared to 46.2% on the left side (p = 0.031). The most common fracture in children was dista lforearm at 18.87%. The most common causes of fracture were falling (34.6%), road accident (28.4%), and falling from height (24.1%). These top three most common accounted for 87.1% o fall causes o ffractures.
Conclusion: The present study described the prevalence, types, patterns, and causes of fractures in children. The results of the present study may be useful in the planning of management and prevention of fractures in children.