Diving-related injuries in children <20 years old treated in emergency departments in the United States:: 1990-2006

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this work was to comprehensively examine diving-related injuries in the United States among children and adolescents < 20 years of age. METHODS. We conducted a retrospective analysis of diving-related injury data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, including patients aged < 20 years old who were seen in an emergency department for a diving-related injury from 1990 through 2006. RESULTS. An estimated 111 341 patients aged <= 19 years were treated in emergency departments for diving-related injuries over the 17-year period of the study. The average annual injury rate was 8.4 injuries per 100 000 US residents < 20 years old. Patients aged 10 to 14 years composed the largest group (36.3%) of injured divers. Injuries to the head and/or neck (38.2%) and face (21.7%) were the most common, with the most frequent diagnoses being lacerations (33.9%) and soft tissue injuries (24.3%). Collision with a diving board and/or platform was the leading cause of injuries (43.9%). Children < 10 years old had increased odds of sustaining a laceration, children < 5 years old had increased odds of injury to the face, and 10- to 19-year-olds had increased odds of sustaining a fracture or an injury to the extremities. The odds of injury caused by contact with the diving board dramatically increased if the child was performing a flip and/or handstand or a backward dive. CONCLUSIONS. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine recreational and competitive diving-related injuries among children and adolescents using a nationally representative sample. These results can help inform pediatricians, parents, coaches, and trainers regarding injuries seen during recreational and competitive diving and can help guide future prevention efforts.