Incidence of Firework-Related Hand Injuries in Pediatrics and Cost of Treatment

Natdanai Chusing MD1, Thananit Sangkomkamhang MD1

Affiliation : 1 Department of Orthopedics, Khon Kaen Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand

Objective : To study the incidence of (cid:976)irework-related hand injuries in children, sequelae of injuries, and cost of treatment.
Materials and Methods : A retrospective study of (cid:976)irework-related hand injury patients aged younger than 15 years that attended Khon Kaen Hospital between 2012 and 2016. The injury patterns, sequelae of injuries, and cost of treatment were reviewed.
Results : Ninety-seven patients were studied. All patients were male. The mean age of participants was 11.2 years. The incidence of (cid:976)irework-related injuries was 19.4 cases per year. Most patients were injured during the end of Buddhist Lent Day (93%) and most of them were active users (97%). Overall, the most commonly injured parts were index (cid:976)inger (59%), long (cid:976)inger (56%), (cid:976)irst web space injuries (33%), and thumb (28%). Half of patients (46 of 97 patients) lost some part of their (cid:976)ingers, mostly were distal phalanx (87%) and two patients had long-term disability. The average duration of the subject’s hospital stay was 4.7 days (1 to 33 days). The average cost per injury was $460.
Conclusion : The majority of (cid:976)irework-related hand injuries in Thailand were male active users during the end of Buddhist Lent Day. Fireworks can cause various degrees of injuries. Index and long (cid:976)ingers were frequently injured, resulting in many instances of long-term disability.

Keywords : Firework-related hand injuries, Sequelae of injuries, Cost of treatment

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