Injury epidemiology of inflatable amusement devices: a level I trauma center experience

The incidence of pediatric injuries involving inflatable amusement devices (IADs) has increased. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of these injuries treated at a level 1 trauma center. We hypothesized that there would be a yearly increase in injuries across the study period. After Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, a retrospective chart review was conducted of pediatric patients (< 18 years-old) treated at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH) for IAD-related injury between January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2024. Forty-nine patients were treated. An average of 4.4 patients were treated for IAD-related injuries each year. A positive relationship between injury rate and year was not observed in the cohort (p = 0.102). The median injury severity score (ISS) was 4. Forty-three patients suffered one or more bone fractures (88%) and 35 required surgical intervention (71%). Our cohort did not show a significant increase in the incidence of pediatric IAD-related injuries over time. The injury burden in our study was high, with 71% of patients treated surgically. This might be due to the high proportion (78%) of patients transferred from outside institutions for definitive treatment.