Riding a Bicycle: Do We Need More Than a Helmet?

Aims: to assess pediatric bicycle-related traumatization in view of types of injuries, incidence and modes of prevention. Methods: Retrospective study of pediatric cases admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit of a university affiliated level II trauma hospital in Israel in 12 consecutive years. Results: 46 patients (F 3, M 43) with bicycle-related injuries formed 1% of the total PICU admissions during the study period. The number of patients with bicycle-related injuries increased significantly during the recent years (1996-2001 vs. 2002-2007: p = 0.003). Most of the cases presented abdominal injuries (54.4%) followed by head (32.6%) and chest (13%) injuries. The median age of patients with abdominal trauma was significantly lower in comparison to patients with other types of injuries (p = 0.002). Abdominal cases required longer hospitalization comparing to the other patients (p = 0.003). Falling from a bicycle was the main mechanism of injury in abdominal cases (88%) (p = 0.003). Motor vehicle impacts were the main mechanism of injury in patients with head (60%) and chest (66.6%) trauma. Conclusion: The incidence of severe bicycle-related injuries requiring intensive care hospitalization is increasing and abdominal trauma forms the main portion of those injuries. We suggest an introducing the trunk protective measure for young bicyclists. The exact information on mechanism of injury is an important clue to approach the involved organ. Language: en