Childhood Injuries Caused by Falling Televisions

Objectives: To obtain a detailed description of the injury scene in an attempt to identify methods for prevention and to describe the morbidity and mortality of children who present to an urban pediatric emergency department (ED) with an injury caused by a falling television. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study from a prospectively created database was conducted over one year. All adults accompanying a child younger than 13 years of age who was injured by a falling television were directly interviewed, and the patient medical charts were reviewed. Results: Twenty-eight children were eligible, and 26 children were analyzed. The median age was 40 months (25th and 75th quartiles: 31, 51 months). None of the televisions, or the furniture that they were placed on, were secured. Most parents (85%) reported that they were unaware that injuries could occur by this mechanism. Fourteen children suffered head injuries, and nine children injured an extremity. Nine children were hospitalized, including two patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Conclusions: Children may present to the ED with injuries caused by falling televisions. These injuries are usually not severe; however, the potential for severe injury exists, and some children may require ICU monitoring. Our data indicate a lack of parental awareness and an absence of primary prevention as a root cause for this problem. Thus, more aggressive education to warn parents about the risk of injury must be implemented so that more families will take the time to place their televisions safely.