SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “fall from height”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Closed head injuries in children: is hospital admission always necessary?

The objective of this study was to identify a group of patients with mild closed head injury, lack of other significant trauma, and normal head computerized tomograph (CT), who could be safely observed at home by a reliable caretaker. Data were from a retrospective chart review of pediatric emergency department (PED) and hospital course of an urban university children's hospital. The pediatric trauma registry was used to identify patients one to 17 years old seen in the PED with closed-head injury and normal head CT between June 1991 and August 1992. A total of 746 patients with heads injury were seen in the PED, and 161 patients with closed-head injury were admitted during the study period. Sixty-two patients (mean age = 8.5 +/- 5 years) met inclusion criteria with hospital admission, mild head injury, Glasgow Coma Scale > or = 13, and normal head CT. Of the patients 63% (34) were male and 37% (23) were female, with 74% (46) African-American and 26% (16) Caucasian. The most frequent mechanisms of injury were 27% (17) fall from height (mean height = 6.7 +/- 4.6 feet) and 18% (11) passenger in a motor vehicle accident. Patients had a median Glasgow Coma Scale of 15 (mean 14.8) and median abbreviated injury score of 2 (mean = 1.8). Thirty-seven percent of patients (23) had a history of loss of consciousness (range one to five minutes) and 6% (4) had generalized tonic-clonic seizure after the injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Nonoperative treatment in burst fractures of the lumbar spine (L2-L5) without neurologic deficits.

A retrospective review of 20 patients treated nonoperatively for burst fractures of the lumbar spine (L2-L5) was performed. All patients were neurologically intact at the time of injury. Follow-up averaged 3.9 years with a range of 2.1 to 9.1 years. Fourteen patients were men and six were women. The average age at injury was 35.8 years (8-67 years). Sixty-five percent of the injuries were the result of motor vehicle accidents and 35% falls from height. Fifty-five percent were two-column injuries and 45% three-column injuries. Kyphotic deformity averaged 8 at injury (-7 to 30) and 9.6 at follow-up (-8 to 33). Computed tomography scans were performed in nine patients during evaluation of injury. Spinal canal compromise averaged 40% (18-75%). Eighteen patients (90%) were considered to have a good to excellent functional outcome, whereas two patients had a fair outcome. No patient had a poor outcome. In no patient did neurologic deterioration or symptomatic spinal stenosis develop. Twenty-five percent of patients had no back pain, 70% mild back pain, and 5% moderate back pain. No patient was totally incapacitated by pain. Of those employed, all returned to full-time work. Nonoperative treatment should be considered as an alternative in the treatment of lumbar burst fractures (L2-L5) in patients presenting without initial neurologic deficits.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Pediatric sacral fractures.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. OBJECTIVES: To examine the epidemiologic, anatomic, mechanistic, and outcome characteristics in pediatric patients with sacral fractures and to look for correlation with the adult literature regarding sacral fractures and previous classification systems. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: A review of the current literature reveals no systematic attempts to apply the results of studies of sacral fractures in adults to those in the pediatric population. METHODS: We reviewed all 4876 cases of pediatric trauma at 1 children's hospital over a 7-year period. Eight children had documented sacral fractures. Their charts were reviewed, and follow-up interviews were conducted. RESULTS: All patients suffered either motor vehicle accidents or falls from height. Three patients' injuries were confined to the pelvic rim including the sacrum. Mean follow-up was 38 months. Six patients had Denis Zone I injuries, 1 patient had a Zone II injury (no neurologic deficits in either category), and 1 patient had a Zone III injury with significant neurologic injury. Only this patient required surgical intervention. Long-term recovery was good in those without comorbid injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric sacral fractures are rare (0.16% of pediatric trauma). As is the case in adults, most fractures are not associated with neurologic injury. Diagnosing pediatric sacral fractures requires high clinical suspicion and thorough radiographic evaluation. Correlation of neurologic injury with certain fracture types may be possible, but will require larger studies to be confirmed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Avulsion of the distal tibial shaft in aircraft crashes: a pathological feature of extreme decelerative injury.

A pilot and his passenger were killed on impact with the ground when their light aircraft crashed. Both deaths were caused by extensive injuries involving severe craniocerebral, skeletal, soft tissue, and organ trauma. In both victims, the legs were shortened, with stripping of muscle and soft tissues from the shafts of the lower limb long bones. In addition, fragments of distal tibial shaft had been forced through the soles of the victims' shoes. This sign indicated a fall from height and showed that the direction of the decelerative forces had been along the axis of the legs and that the force of impact was severe enough to cause fracturing of the lower limb bones, with subsequent extrusion of bone fragments downwards through the shoes. When present, this observation represents another feature at autopsy that can add to the understanding of the circumstances of a fatal air crash and the position of the victims immediately prior to impact.

Accidents↗

PubMed2003

Agricultural tasks and injuries among Kentucky farm children: results of the Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project.

BACKGROUND: This population-based study reports the prevalent agricultural tasks and the 1-year cumulative incidence of injuries in a sample of 999 children < or = 18 years old living on family farms in Kentucky. METHODS: Data were collected in 1994 to 1995 for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project. A random sample of farm children in 60 Kentucky counties was selected using a cross-sectional, two-stage cluster design. Respondents, primarily mothers, completed a 30-minute telephone interview about work-related tasks and injuries experienced by their children while working on the farm. RESULTS: Participation in chores related to tobacco and beef cattle production was common for children aged 5 to 18 years. In a 1-year period, 29 children were injured while performing farm work, yielding a crude rate of 2.8 per 100 children (95% confidence interval, 1.7-3.8). Boys aged 16 to 18 years had the highest injury rate (9.2 per 100 children). Farm machinery, cattle and horses, falls from heights, and contact with inanimate objects were the primary external causes of nonfatal farm work injuries. CONCLUSION: Rates of farm work injuries among adolescent boys may be higher than previously reported for Kentucky and other states. Injury prevention interventions targeted to chores related to tobacco and beef cattle production are particularly relevant for this population of young workers.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

Facial nerve palsy after head injury: Case incidence, causes, clinical profile and outcome.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the case incidence, causes, clinical profile, and outcome of facial nerve palsy complicating head trauma. METHOD: A 10-year (1991-2000) retrospective study of head injured patients at the University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. Age, gender, and neurologic findings were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 794 patients, facial nerve palsy occurred in 40 (5.04%). Facial nerve was the most frequently injured cranial nerve, followed by vestibulo-cochlear (12 [1.5%]) and abducens (8 [1.0%]). Majority (70%) of the seventh nerve palsies were of the lower motor neurone type. The left nerve was more frequently affected (60%). Facial nerve palsy was more common in male patients and adults with a peak incidence at the 4th decade. Spontaneous functional recovery occurring within 6 to 24 months of injury was total in 12 (30%), partial in 5 (12.3%), and none in 3 (7.5%) subjects. Thirteen patients died giving a mortality rate of 32.5%. The patients were aged 5 to 85 years (mean, 34 years). Causes of head trauma were traffic injuries (82.5%), fall from height (7.5%), assault (5%), and gunshot (2.5%). Though patient mortality rate was higher among patients with facial nerve palsy (32.5%) than those without (23.04%), facial nerve palsy was not a strong predictor of fatality (p = 0.2950). CONCLUSION: The case incidence of facial nerve palsy in head injured patients in our center is 5.04%. The lower motor neurone type predominates. It is commoner in men and on the left side with spontaneous recovery occurring in 30% of cases.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Variability in anterior pituitary size within members of a family with GH deficiency due to a new splice mutation in the GHRH receptor gene.

OBJECTIVE: Mutations in the GHRH receptor (GHRHR) gene (GHRHR) cause autosomal recessive isolated GH deficiency (IGHD), and are usually associated with anterior pituitary hypoplasia (APH) (defined as pituitary height more than 2 SDS below normal). We searched for GHRHR mutations and studied pituitary morphology in three prepubertal sibs with severe IGHD, who were born from consanguineous parents. DESIGN: We sequenced the 13 exons and the intron-exon boundaries of the GHRHR of the index patient. After identifying a novel mutation, we sequenced the same area in the other family members. In addition, we performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of the pituitary (at age 8, 4 and 3 years) in the three affected subjects. RESULTS: The three children were homozygous for a new GHRHR mutation that alters the second base of the invariant 5' splice site (GT) of intron 12 [IVS12 + 2T-->A]. The parents and an unaffected sibling were heterozygous for the same change. MRI did not show frank APH (by height criteria) in any of the subjects: pituitary height was normal (5.6 mm, +1.8 SDS) in the oldest sibling, and it was low but not below 2 SDS by age-adjusted criteria in the second (3 mm, -1.4 SDS), and third sibling (2.8 mm, -1.7 SDS). Calculated pituitary volume was below -2 SDS in the youngest patient. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that pituitary height may fall within 2 SDS from the norm in patients with severe IGHD due to a homozygous GHRHR mutation, and that pituitary size may vary within patients with identical mutations who belong to the same family.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Partial carpal arthrodesis for third degree carpal sprains. A review of 45 carpi.

The efficacy of partial carpal arthrodesis was evaluated retrospectively in 39 dogs (45 carpi) with severe sprains of the middle carpal joints, the carpometacarpal joints, or both. The carpometacarpal joint was the most frequently injured joint. Jumping or falling from heights was the cause of injury in 49% of these animals. Of the 25 owners who responded to a mailed questionnaire (mean follow-up, 32 months), all stated their animal had improved or greatly improved after partial carpal arthrodesis and all were pleased or very pleased with the final surgical result. Hyperextension persisted in 11% of the cases and degenerative joint disease of the antebrachiocarpal joint was present in 15.5% of the cases. No dogs with partial carpal arthrodesis required panarthrodesis at a later date.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Accidents among children below school age. Changes of incidence after intervention.

Children aged 0 to 6 years old admitted to hospital due to an accident were registered. Registration was carried out for two yearly periods; September 1982 to September 1983 and June 1985 to June 1986. The incidence of accidents dropped from 125 per 1,000 a year to 116 accidents per 1,000 children a year. The youngest children showed the most significant decrease in incidence. Home accidents were the most common type of accidents in both registration periods. Accidents due to falling from heights and poisoning accidents increased in the second period. Children injured during the second registration period required 3.4 times fewer days of hospitalization compared with the first period. Fractures and thermal injuries demanded most hospital care in both registration periods.

Accident Prevention↗

PubMed1986

Morphological, biochemical and secretory studies on rat pancreatic ducts maintained in tissue culture.

Interlobular ducts were isolated from the pancrease of copper-deficient rats and maintained in culture on polycarbonate filter rafts. Within 8 h the ends of the ducts had sealed. This was followed by a marked dilatation of the lumen, a flattening of the epithelium against the surrounding connective tissue layer and an over-all swelling of the duct. Apart from a reduction in their height, a fall in the number of intracellular fat droplets and a widening of intercellular spaces, epithelial cells within the cultured ducts retained all the ultrastructural characteristics of those in freshly isolated preparations. The basal concentration of adenosine 3',5'-phosphate (cyclic AMP) in the cultured ducts was 43.3 +/- 6.8 mumol.1-1 duct epithelium (n = 5) and was increased to 188.9 +/- 55.2 mumol.l-1 duct epithelium (n = 5) in the presence of 10(-8) M secretin. The basal rate of fluid secretion, measured using micropuncture techniques, was 0.16 +/- 0.03 nl.h-1.nl-1 duct epithelium (n = 12). This was increased 14-fold by 10(-8) M secretin while the dose of the hormone required for half-maximal secretion was about 2 X 10(-11) mol.l-1. The concentration of chloride ions in secreted fluid and perifusion buffer were similar. Variation in culture time up to 52 h had no effect on fluid secretion, and the response to secretin was dependent on the presence of bicarbonate ions in the perifusion fluid. N6,O2-dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-phosphate (dibutyryl cyclic AMP) also increased fluid secretion but caerulein had no effect. We suggest that isolated ducts secrete fluid at comparable rates to ducts in situ within the pancrease of copper-replete rats.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Hypothyroidism mimicking chronic renal failure in reflux nephropathy.

An adolescent with a history of pyelonephritis and renal scarring had antireflux surgery at the age of 2.5 years. His serum creatinine was high at the age of 14 years (133 micromol/l; glomerular filtration rate (GFR) 56 ml/min x 1.73 m(2)), and reflux nephropathy with chronic renal failure was diagnosed. Because of a fall in height velocity, endocrinological investigations were performed six months later which showed hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune thyroiditis. Substitution with thyroxine was started; renal function improved to normal six months later (GFR 108 ml/min x 1.73 m(2)). Metabolic changes of hypothyroidism led to a reduction of GFR in this patient and mimicked chronic renal failure.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Hazards of baby walkers in a European context.

OBJECTIVES: To identify conditions related to baby walker injuries in a Greek population. DESIGN: Analysis of all baby walker related injuries recorded during a 12 month period by the childhood injury surveillance system established in one of the two teaching hospitals for children serving the population of Athens. SETTING: Emergency clinics of A Kyriakou Children's Hospital in Athens, Greece. SUBJECTS: 49 babies with baby walker related injuries brought to the emergency clinics during the period May 1994 to April 1995. RESULTS: The incidence of these injuries was 16 per thousand person years of users, or 3.5 per thousand babies per year. More boys than girls were brought to the hospital for these injuries and the incidence density was highest during the ninth and 10th month of age. Falls from heights, particularly stairs, were the most frequent cause of baby walker related injuries, especially among younger babies. The majority of these injuries were of minor severity, but three babies had bone fractures and one had a second degree facial burn. Six babies required hospitalization and for seven others, a follow up visit was needed. The higher proportion of hospitalization among girls than boys raises the possibility that boys with minor injuries are more frequently brought to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Baby walkers impart a significant risk of injury from a consumer product that provides no clearly identifiable benefit. As most baby walker injuries happen on stairs, modifications in product design are required to reduce these injuries. Moreover, parents should be forcefully advised of the risks and predisposing conditions, if baby walkers are to be used at all.

Consumer Product Safety↗

PubMed2005

Pediatric farm injuries involving non-working children injured by a farm work hazard: five priorities for primary prevention.

OBJECTIVES: To describe pediatric farm injuries experienced by children who were not engaged in farm work, but were injured by a farm work hazard and to identify priorities for primary prevention. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from a novel evaluation of an injury control resource using a retrospective case series. DATA SOURCES: Fatal, hospitalized, and restricted activity farm injuries from Canada and the United States. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and seventy known non-work childhood injuries from a larger case series of 934 injury events covering the full spectrum of pediatric farm injuries. METHODS: Recurrent injury patterns were described by child demographics, external cause of injury, and associated child activities. Factors contributing to pediatric farm injury were described. New priorities for primary prevention were identified. RESULTS: The children involved were mainly resident members of farm families and 233/370 (63.0%) of the children were under the age of 7 years. Leading mechanisms of injury varied by data source but included: bystander and passenger runovers (fatalities); drowning (fatalities); machinery entanglements (hospitalizations); falls from heights (hospitalizations); and animal trauma (hospitalizations, restricted activity injuries). Common activities leading to injury included playing in the worksite (all data sources); being a bystander to or extra rider on farm machinery (all data sources); recreational horseback riding (restricted activity injuries). Five priorities for prevention programs are proposed. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial proportions of pediatric farm injuries are experienced by children who are not engaged in farm work. These injuries occur because farm children are often exposed to an occupational worksite with known hazards. Study findings could lead to more refined and focused pediatric farm injury prevention initiatives.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Surveillance of hospitalized farm injuries in Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of hospital admissions for the treatment of farm injuries. METHODS DESIGN: descriptive analysis of data from the Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program (CAISP). POPULATION: persons experiencing a farm injury requiring hospitalization, April 1991 to March 1995. Access to hospital separation data was negotiated within Canadian provinces. Individual cases were verified by medical records personnel and supplemental data describing injury circumstances were obtained. ANALYSIS: descriptive analyses characterizing farm injuries by: persons involved, mechanisms, primary diagnoses, and agents of injury. RESULTS: Data from 8/10 Canadian provinces representing 98% of the farm population were obtained. A total of 8,263 farm injuries were verified. Adults aged 60 years and older were over-represented in these injuries. Leading external causes of agricultural machinery injury included entanglements, being pinned/struck by machinery, falls, and runovers. Non-machinery causes included falls from heights, animal related trauma, and being struck/by against objects. Leading diagnoses varied by age group, but included: limb fractures/open wounds, intracranial injuries, skull fractures, and spinal/ truncal fractures. CONCLUSIONS: CAISP is a new agricultural injury surveillance program in Canada. Data from this system are actively used to inform prevention initiatives, and to indicate priorities for etiological and experimental research in the Canadian agricultural setting.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Calcaneal insufficiency avulsion fractures in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Radiographs and clinical records of 61 patients with calcaneal fractures were studied. Twenty-one patients had diabetes mellitus, and 40 were nondiabetic. All diabetic patients were insulin dependent for more than 5 years and had clinically evident peripheral neuropathy. Eighteen of the diabetic patients had no history of significant trauma. Fourteen had calcaneal insufficiency avulsion (CIA) fractures limited to the posterior third of the calcaneus. The fracture pattern in this group occurred in the same plane as a fatigue-type calcaneal fracture. Fragments of the posterior tuberosity were usually displaced 10-30 mm and were frequently rotated. The mean time from diagnosis of diabetes mellitus to CIA fracture was 20 years. Fractures in the nondiabetic group and in the three diabetic patients with a history of trauma did not resemble the CIA pattern. In the nondiabetic group, there were no insufficiency fractures; 39 fractures occurred with significant force (eg, motor vehicle accident or fall from height), and 33 had extension to subtalar or calcaneocuboid joints.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Raised object on a planar surface stroked across the fingerpad: responses of cutaneous mechanoreceptors to shape and orientation.

The representations of orientation and shape were studied in the responses of cutaneous mechanoreceptors to an isolated, raised object on a planar surface stroked across the fingerpad. The objects were the top portions of a sphere with a 5-mm radius, and two toroids each with a radius of 5 mm along one axis and differing radii of 1 or 3 mm along the orthogonal axis. The velocity and direction of stroking were fixed while the orientation of the object in the horizontal plane was varied. Each object was stroked along a series of laterally shifted, parallel, linear trajectories over the receptive fields of slowly adapting, type I (SA), and rapidly adapting, type I (RA) mechanoreceptive afferents innervating the fingerpad of the monkey. "Spatial event plots" (SEPs) of the occurrence of action potentials, as a function of the location of each object on the receptive field, were interpreted as the responses of a spatially distributed population of fibers. That portion of the plot evoked by the curved object (the SEPc) provided a representation of the shape and orientation of the two-dimensional outline of the object in the horizontal plane in contact with the skin. For both SAs and RAs, the major vector of the SEPc, obtained by a principal components analysis, was linearly related to the physical orientation of the major axis of each toroid. The spatial distribution of discharge rates [spatial rate surface profiles (SRSs), after plotting mean instantaneous frequency versus spatial locus within the SEPc] represented object shape in a third dimension, normal to the skin surface. The shape of the SA SRSs, well fitted by Gaussian equations, better represented object shape than that of the RA SRSs. A cross-sectional profile along the minor axis [spatial rate profile (SRP)] was approximately triangular for SAs. After normalization for differences in peak height, the falling slopes of the SA SRPs increased, and the base widths decreased with curvature of the object's minor axis. These curvature-related differences in slopes and widths were invariant with changes in object orientation. It is hypothesized that circularity in object shape is coded by the constancy of slopes of SA SRPs between peak and base and that the constancy of differences in the widths and falling slopes evoked by different raised objects encodes, respectively, the differences in their sizes and shapes regardless of differences in their orientation on the skin.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1994

Epidemiological analysis of serious occupational accidents in southern Finland.

The aims of this article were, on the one hand, to indicate the risk groups exposed to serious occupational accidents and, on the other hand, to examine what makes serious occupational accidents 'serious'. We compared the data on 99 serious occupational accidents gathered by ourselves to the information from official statistics. The results showed that the risk of a serious accident was highest for a man working in the manufacturing industry, at a construction site, or in transporting, and who was in his first year of service. Typical serious occupational accidents were falls from heights, accidents with machines, and getting run over by moving vehicles. The most general injuries were fractures, loss of extremities, and injuries to internal organs. Serious occupational accidents differ from minor accidents as regards type of accident and injured part of the body.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

Industrial accidental deaths in the Niger delta region of Nigeria: a study of 32 autopsies in Port Harcourt.

Accidents in the oil industry in the Niger delta region of Nigera raise concerns about safety measures and the management of industrial sites. A total of 32 autopsies were performed after coroners' inquest forms were served on the authors by the State, which serve as consent and request. Standard procedures were adopted in all the cases and the reports were appropriately issued. Death from industrial accidents accounted for 2.5% and 6.1% of total autopsies and accidental death autopsies respectively. The youngest victim was a 19 year old male while the oldest was a 55 year old male. The age group 30-39 years was the most vulnerable. There was a male dominance; (male:female ratio = 9.7:1). The commonest accidents in their order of frequency were: falling from a height, explosion/fire, motor vehicle accidents and falling objects. Multiple injuries, head and neck trauma and drowning were the commonest cause of death at autopsy. Accidental deaths were commoner in the small-scale industries (81%) than in the large-scale industries (19%). This is the first time such a study has been carried out locally. The proportion of accidental deaths in the small scale industries relative to that of the large ones may be attributed to the poor enforcement of safety measures in the smaller industries

Accidents, Occupational↗