Ski and snowboard injury patterns in the United States from 2010 to 2020 in pediatric patients

Background: Children and adolescents are at higher risk of injuries from winter sports like skiing and snowboarding which can cause severe lifelong debilitation and death.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to perform a nationwide analysis of pediatric skiing and snowboarding injuries to identify patterns regarding patient demographics, type of injuries, outcomes, and admission rates.

Study design: Descriptive Epidemiological Study.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of publicly available data. Cases were sourced from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2010 to 2020 and included 6421 incidents.

Results: Even when the highest percentage of injuries was the head at 19.30%; the diagnosis of concussion was placed third while fractures were the most common diagnosis at 38.20%. The proportion of pediatric incidents by hospital type is changing with children's hospitals currently managing the majority of cases.

Conclusions: These findings can assist clinicians in the ED across different hospital types in understanding the patterns of injury to be better prepared for new cases.