This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Labbé, J.
Right arrow Articles by Caouette, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Labbé, J.
Right arrow Articles by Caouette, G.
Related Collections
Right arrow Allergy & Dermatology
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 108 No. 2 August 2001, pp. 271-276

Recent Skin Injuries in Normal Children

Received May 18, 2000; accepted Nov 16, 2000.

Jean Labbé*, Dagger and Georges Caouette*

From the * Department of Pediatrics, Centre hospitalier de l'Université Laval, and Dagger  Québec Department of Public Health, Québec, Canada.

Objective.  The objective of our study was to collect data on the totality of recent skin injuries in normal children and adolescents, and to determine the relationship between the number of injuries, the age of the child, and the time of year in a temperate climate.

Methods.  The participants in this study were children and adolescents seen successively for a reason other than trauma over a period of 1 year, by the first author (J.L.), in a university medical center in Québec City, Canada. The total body surface, with the exception of the anal-genital area, was examined systematically. The characteristics and location of all recent injuries (bruises, abrasions, scratches, cuts, burns, etc) were recorded. Scars from old injuries were ignored. The statistical method used for comparison was the Fisher's exact test.

Results.  Two thousand forty examinations were done on 1467 youngsters from 0 to 17 years of age. Nine hundred thirty-one examinations were done on boys and 1109 on girls. The majority of children 9 months and older (76.6%) had at least 1 recent skin injury, without a significant difference between the sexes. Seventeen percent of the total sample of children had at least 5 injuries, whereas 4% had 10 or more, <1% had 15 or more, and 0.2% had 20 or more. The sites involved were mostly the lower limbs. Less than 2% of the total sample of children had injuries to the thorax, abdomen, pelvis, or buttocks, and <1% to the chin, ears, or neck. The majority of injuries observed were bruises, regardless of the time of year. There were, however, more skin injuries during the summer and the proportion of abrasions was higher at this time of the year. The 0- to 8-month age group was unique from all points of view. Skin injuries were rare in this age group (11.4%); they did not vary with the season, and they were mainly on the head and the face. Their injuries were mostly scratches. Bruises were found in only 1.2% of this group.

Conclusions.  The majority of normal children (after the age of 9 months) and adolescents, who do not consult for trauma, had 1 or more recent skin injuries. These injuries, mostly bruises, are more prevalent in the summer in a region with a temperate climate and can be present on all parts of the body, although they are most frequently observed on the limbs, especially on the shins and knees. Even if there are no recognizable marks on the skin, physicians must pay particular attention to children who have injuries with other unusual characteristics (uncommon location, >= 15 injuries, bruises in a child <9 months of age, numerous injuries elsewhere than the lower limbs, numerous injuries in the cold seasons in a temperate climate, injuries other than bruises, abrasions or scratches) because they could be a sign of a bleeding disorder or physical abuse.bruising, child abuse, accidental injury. .


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
A. P. Goldberg, J. Tobin, J. Daigneau, R. T. Griffith, S. E. Reinert, and C. Jenny
Bruising Frequency and Patterns in Children With Physical Disabilities
Pediatrics, August 1, 2009; 124(2): 604 - 609.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
M. L. Peters, S. P. Starling, M. L. Barnes-Eley, and K. W. Heisler
The Presence of Bruising Associated With Fractures
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, September 1, 2008; 162(9): 877 - 881.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
S Maguire, M K Mann, J Sibert, and A Kemp
Are there patterns of bruising in childhood which are diagnostic or suggestive of abuse? A systematic review
Arch. Dis. Child., February 1, 2005; 90(2): 182 - 186.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
E. Vogeley, M. C. Pierce, and G. Bertocci
Experience With Wood Lamp Illumination and Digital Photography in the Documentation of Bruises on Human Skin
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, March 1, 2002; 156(3): 265 - 268.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]