Seasonality and temporal variation of pediatric trauma in Southern California

Abstract

Introduction: Seasonality of pediatric trauma has been previously described, although the association of season with hour of presentation is less understood. Both factors have potential implications for resource allocation and team preparedness.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted to analyze the records of injured children <18 years-old who presented to one of the 15 trauma centers within Los Angeles County. Data from the County Trauma and Emergency Medicine Information System Registry was abstracted from 1/1/10 to 12/31/21. Patient demographics, mechanism of injury (MOI) and time of presentation by season were analyzed using Kruskal Wallis tests and chi-square tests.

Results: A total of 30,444 pediatric trauma presentations were included. Both the time of presentation and the MOI differed significantly by season with p < 0.001. Autumn had a higher incidence of pedestrian injuries during hours of 08:00 and 15:0020:00, and sports injuries from 16:00 to 21:00. In the Summer there were more burns between 17:00 and 23:00 and falls from greater than 10 ft after 13:00. The mode of transport used was also different across seasons (p = 0.03), with the use of both air and ground EMS greatest during summer and least during winter. The hours of greatest utilization remained relatively constant for all seasons for air transport (18:00-19:00 h) and ground transport (19:00-20:00 h).

Conclusion: These data demonstrate the significant seasonal and temporal variation within pediatric trauma. These findings could be used to inform improvements in emergency response, and resource allocation in particular.

Keywords: Pediatric trauma; Resource utilization; Seasonal; Temporal variation.