Characteristics of unintentional injuries in hospitalised children and adolescents - national retrospective study

Introduction/Objective. Unintentional injuries is a global health issue among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of unintentional injuries divided according to different age groups and sex among the children and adolescents who have been hospitalised in public hospitals of the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods. A retrospective analysis of the e-base of the Agency for certification, accreditation and health care quality improvement of the Republic of Srpska data were collected from 10 public hospitals for patients aged ?19 years, who have been hospitalised for unintentional injuries in the period of January 2018 and December 2020. Results. The study identified 1,336 patients who were hospitalised for unintentional injuries, most of whom were boys (67.4%). Falls were the most frequent cause of hospitalisation in children of all age categories (aged 1 (70.6%), 1 to 4 (59.1%), 5 to 9 (68.5%)) and adolescents aged 10-14 (64.1%), while road traffic injuries were the leading cause of hospitalisation in adolescents aged 15 to 19 (62.6%). The cause of injury for the hospitalised patients were significantly related to age (p < 0.001) and sex (p < 0.05) groups. According to the nature of the injury in relation to the area of the body, the most frequent injuries were to the head (41.1%), caused by traffic accidents and falls. Conclusion. Since falls and road traffic injuries were the leading causes of hospitalisation, preventive measures should be taken to reduce the frequency of these injuries.