Paediatric trauma refers to any traumatic injury suffered by a child. This can be as a result of motor vehicle or pedestrian accidents, fall from heights, child abuse or penetrating injuries, to name a few. Because there are some significant differences between the bodies and physiology of children and adults, children’s injuries need to be treated differently. This is best done by either a trauma specialist or paediatric surgeon.
Children are generally at higher risk of traumatic injuries to their abdominal organs because of very little soft tissue and skeletal protection, and the overall small size of the abdomen that enables a single force to damage multiple organs at the same time.
Paediatric patients often require MRI or CT imaging to assess organ damage especially pancreatic, liver, spleen and kidney injuries. Urgent and appropriate management of any severely injured child is of utmost importance to improve the chance of survival and minimise risk of complications.
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