Pediatric and adolescent injury in snowboarding

Ski and snowboard injury patterns in the United States from 2010 to 2020 in pediatric patients

BACKGROUND

Children and adolescents are at higher risk of injuries from winter sports like skiing and snowboarding which can cause severe lifelong debilitation and death.

PURPOSE

The objective of this study is to perform a nationwide analysis of pediatric skiing and snowboarding injuries to identify patterns regarding patient demographics, type of injuries, outcomes, and admission rates.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive Epidemiological Study.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of publicly available data. Cases were sourced from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2010 to 2020 and included 6421 incidents.

RESULTS

Even when the highest percentage of injuries was the head at 19.30%; the diagnosis of concussion was placed third while fractures were the most common diagnosis at 38.20%. The proportion of pediatric incidents by hospital type is changing with children's hospitals currently managing the majority of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings can assist clinicians in the ED across different hospital types in understanding the patterns of injury to be better prepared for new cases.

Epidemiology of Sport-Related Concussion

Sport-related concussions are common in the United States. Concussion rates have increased over time, likely due to improved recognition and awareness. Concussion rates vary across level (high school vs college), sex, and sport. Concussion rates are the highest among men, particularly in football, wrestling, ice hockey, and lacrosse where collisions and contact are inherent to the sports, although girls'/women's soccer rates are high. In gender-comparable sports, women have higher concussion rates. Continued data collection will increase understanding of sport-related concussion and provide areas for targeted prevention in the future.