Liječnički vjesnik, Vol. 139 No. 1-2, 2017.
Original scientific paper
FEMUR FRACTURES IN CHILDREN – CAUSES AND MECHANISMS OF INJURY
Anko Antabak
Marija Čagalj
Nikolina Boršćak
Renato Ivelj
Dino Papeš
Damir Halužan
Ivan Romić
Tomislav Luetić
Abstract
Children are often exposed to injuries due to their hyperactivity. Femur fractures can however leave permanent
consequences despite adequate treatment. The high prevalence and possible invalidity justify research in the fi eld of
prevention of this injury. But prevention is possible only by knowing the causes and circumstances of the fractures. The aim
of this research is to analyze the circumstances and places of occurrence in femur fractures according to children age
groups. This retrospective study includes 103 children up to the age of 18 years treated at the University Hospital Center of
Medicine Zagreb, or at the Clinic for children diseases Zagreb in the period from 2012 to 2016. The study includes 35 (33
%) girls and 71 (67 %) boys, a total of 106 children with femur fractures. The average age was fi ve years. The majority of
the injured children, 52 children (55,2 %), belonged to the youngest age group from 0 to 4 years of age. Diaphysis fractures
were the most common with 66 fractures (62 %), and the rarest were fractures of the distal metaphysis with 15 fractures (13
%). The fractures occurred at home in 41 cases (38 %), in the street in 38 cases (36 %), at recreation in 22 cases (21 5), and
at school or kindergarten in 3 cases (3 %). The most common causes of femur fractures were falls in 38 cases (57,5 %),
motor vehicle accidents in 35 cases (33 %), and crashes and blows in 10 cases (9,5 %). One third of the children with femur
fractures had associated injuries, and four fi fths of them were caused by motor vehicle accidents. The results of this study
show that femur fractures are most frequent in the youngest age groups, and are generally a consequence of accidents at
home (mostly falls), seldom in the streets or recreational places. Parents of preschool children should be educated about
prevention of falling at their homes, and parents of school children should be educated about the dangers of fractures at
recreational places and traffi c
Keywords
Femoral fractures – epidemiology, etiology, prevention and control; Accidental falls – statistics and numerical data; Accidents, traffi c – statistics and numerical data; Accidents, home – statistics and numerical data; Croatia – epidemiology; Incidence; Age distribution; Sex distribution; Child; Retrospective studies
Hrčak ID:
178442
URI
Publication date:
23.3.2017.
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