Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in young children is a growing public health concern. This study aimed to document the epidemiology of injury circumstances, mechanisms and products implicated in unintentional mTBI among children aged 0–5 years presenting to Canadian emergency departments.
A retrospective observational study was conducted using data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) for all children aged 0–5 years old who experienced mTBI from 2012 to 2022.
A total of 79 345 unintentional mTBI cases were recorded in CHIRPP across the study period. The most frequent mechanisms of injury were falls (n=67 599, 85.2%), being struck by/against an object (n=10 240, 12.9%) and transport-related injuries (n=1478, 1.9%). The prevalence of falls was 21% higher in infants (<1 year, prevalence risk ratios (PRR)=1.21, 95% CI=1.19 to 1.23, p<0.001) and 17% higher in toddlers (1–2 years, PRR=1.17, 1.15–1.19, p<0.001) compared with preschoolers (3–5 years). Children primarily fell from beds (n=11 208, 16.6%). Falls from beds were 3.49 (PRR=3.49, 95% CI=3.29 to 3.72, p<0.001) times more common in infants and 1.34 (PRR=1.34, 95% CI=1.25 to 1.44, p<0.001) times more common in toddlers versus preschoolers. Floors were the main surface fallen onto (n=35 577, 52.6%).
This is the first large-scale study on injury circumstances among young children who sustain mTBI in Canada. These findings are critical to inform mTBI prevention initiatives.