BA07PPAEDIATRIC TREADMILL INJURIES IN NSW: AN INCREASING PROBLEM

The steady growth in popularity of home treadmills during the past decade poses a potential hazard to infants and children. Despite increasing awareness of this problem, treadmill-related injuries in the paediatric age group continue to be a concern. The aim of the study was to determine if there has been any change in the incidence of treadmill-related injury in comparison to previous studies. Medical records of all children with treadmill-related injuries from the two tertiary paediatric hospitals between January 2007 and December 2008 in NSW, Australia were reviewed. Data collected include patient details, events surrounding the mechanism of injury, site of the burn and need for surgical intervention. A total of 65 children sustained treadmill-related injuries, 43 of whom were male. There were 17 cases in 2007 and 48 in 2008. The mean age of injury at the time of incident was 3.7 years (range 18 months-14 years). The most common site occurred in fingers/hand (75%) followed by arm/forearms (9%) and torso (8%). 22% required surgical intervention. One patient required two procedures. The most common injury event was when the treadmill was in use by an adult and the child approached unnoticed from behind. There has been an exponential increase in the incidence of treadmill-related injuries in NSW, which parallels with a report from Queensland. The data suggest the need for national legislative changes in addition to increased public education to reduce the impact of this mechanism of injury. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]