A " significant number " of everyday accidents among children under 15 years of age do not require emergency care but cause more than 550,000 consultations with general practitioners and pediatricians each year in France, according to a study published on September 24, 2024.
Leading cause of death in children aged 1-4 years
Traumas related to drowning, suffocation, burns, falls or even poisoning, everyday accidents include domestic, sports and leisure accidents, occurring at school or at other times. They are the leading cause of death among children aged 1-4 and the second among 5-14 year olds, while most were avoidable, underlines a press release from Inserm.
To better target prevention, the Ministry of Health had requested a study from the Inserm and Sorbonne University teams of the Sentinelles network, made up of 1,300 general practitioners and a hundred pediatricians and collaborating with Santé publique France. Because not all victims of these accidents go through the hospital.
“ Around 476,000 children under the age of 15 consulted a general practitioner following an accident in mainland France over one year (2022-2023), and around 77,000 consulted a pediatrician.", estimates this work, carried out from mid-May 2022 to mid-June 2023 with a sample of 162 general practitioners and 31 independent pediatricians spread across France.
On average, a general practitioner had 9 consultations and a pediatrician 29 for children under 15 years old after an accident in everyday life. Three quarters of the cases did not require emergency care.
Falls, the main cause of accidents
Among children under 10 years of age, accidents most often occurred at home, among those aged 10 years of age more frequently during outdoor sports or leisure activities. Regardless of age, falls were the main cause of accidents, the study highlights.
In children up to 4 years of age, furniture, such as beds or sofas, is most often involved; in those aged 5 and over, falls are often spontaneous, for example while playing or tripping.
The most common injuries after these accidents are contusions/bruises or open wounds to the head, followed by sprains to the limbs. Approximately 80% of consultations required a prescription (medication, care, inability to play sports, absence from school).
The "2024-2030 roadmap on pediatrics and child health" plans in particular to strengthen the prevention of everyday accidents for children under 5, the press release recalls. Awareness-raising and communication actions will thus be deployed among the general public, with specific messages according to age.
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