Data from the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) indicate that while injuries to children younger than 5 years are infrequent, the injury distribution for these children is shifted towards more serious injuries and that head injuries are relatively more common. Among 236 children aged 0-4 years who sustained head injuries with Abbreviated Injury Scale values greater than or equal to 1 identified from the NASS database for the years 1993-1995, infants were at significantly higher risk of skull fracture (OR 3.7, 95% CI: 2,16, 6.4) and intracranial injury (OR 2.6 (95% CI:1,4, 4.8) compared to children aged 1-4 years. Unrestrained children of all ages also experienced a higher risk of intracranial injury than their restrained counterparts. Even after adjusting for restraint use, the odds of skull fracture for infants was approximately 4 times greater than that for children aged 1-4 years. (A)
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