A prospective study into the demographics and treatment of paediatric facial lacerations

To evaluate the demographics and treatment of facial lacerations occurring in a paediatric patient cohort. We undertook a prospective study of 106 children who sustained a soft tissue facial injury and who presented to an Accident and Emergency department in a UK district general hospital supporting a population of 750,000. Approximately 31,000 are dependent children between the age of 0-12 years. Our results show that the majority of paediatric patients who sustained a facial laceration were male (62%). The frequency of this injury was greatest amongst males across all age groups. The majority of children above 3 years of age sustained their injury outdoors. The peak time for injury varied for different age groups. The 0-3 year olds sustained the highest incidence of injuries around 17:00 h. A bi-modal time pattern was seen in the 4-6 year age group, initially at 12:00 h with a second peak at 17:00 h. The most frequent aetiology was play. A significant finding was that 8% of the injuries that were managed resulted from a dog bite. Almost 50% of children above 4 years of age, who required primary closure of their laceration, were able to tolerate their treatment being performed under local anaesthesia. The pattern of facial lacerations in our study supports the results of previous studies. Our data has provided further insight into the presentation of these injuries. These studies are valuable in targeted injury prevention programmes aimed at potentially reducing the nature, incidence and severity of facial soft tissue trauma in children in the UK.