[Accidents in childhood: apropos of 14,301 cases treated in the course of one year].

The present study aims: to revise all the cases of paediatric accidents attended at a Emergency Service of a tertiary Hospital; to analyze the epidemiological variables; and to try to draw conclusions in view of prevention. In order to achieve that, the 14.301 accidents attended during 1989 have been collected. The relation between little boys and little girls is 58.2:41.8. The average age is 7.12 years, though the mode has been 2 years. A larger number of accidents occur during non holiday. 44.3% of cases are attended between 18 and 23 hours. 89% of the accidents are, first of all, traumatisms and/or wounds; secondly, those which are produced by strange bodies (4.4%). In 51.9% of cases no complementary trial was carried out. Only 2.9% of cases were admitted to hospital, whereas 104% requires observation, and the rest returns home. The variables in the admitted patients are also analyzed, and a brief exposition of results for each of the 6 diagnostic groups is made.