Injuries in children by top 10 main diagnoses

Unintentional injuries in children account for approximately 1 in 7 of all emergency hospital admissions for children aged under 15. Figure 5 and Table 11 show the top ten main diagnoses for children who were admitted as an emergency following an unintentional injury.

^{Please click on the above chart for relating tables and notes.}

Fracture of arm and shoulder and injuries of the head are the most common types of injury for both males and females. The majority of injuries to the head, are in the 'other head injuries' category and have rates of 219.4 and 134.2 per 100,000 population for males and females respectively. Injuries that result in an 'open wound of head' have rates of 108.4 and 69.4 per 100,000 population, respectively. Injuries to the face and skull, shown as 'fracture of skull and facial bones' are not as common. The rates for males and females for this type of injury are 22.5 and 12.0 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Table 12 provides further information on selected causes of injury (RTAs, poisoning, falls, exposure to inanimate mechanical forces, assaults, over exertion and non RTA transport accidents) by the main diagnosis recorded and age group.