Almost 5,200 kids fall from windows in U.S

In the U.S., the rate of injuries related to children and teens falling out of windows declined over a 19-year period, although not nearly as fast as in some cities with comprehensive prevention programs, researchers found. From 1990 to 2008, the overall rate of injuries in children and teens was 7.3 per 100,000 per year, going as high as 11.4 in 1992 and as low as 5.8 in 1999, according to Gary Smith, MD, DrPh, of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues. The annual rate of injuries fell slightly but significantly over the study period, driven entirely by a reduction of 0.426 cases per 100,000 per year in children up to age four, the researchers reported online ahead of the September issue of Pediatrics. That is much less than the reduction seen in previous studies of fall prevention programs in New York City and Boston, which achieved declines of up to 96 percent during a 10-year period through education, increased access to window guards, and a mandate to use window guards in certain homes (only in New York City). "The slower decrease followed by a plateau in injury rates found in this study underscores the fact that prevention efforts of the magnitude undertaken in New York and Boston have not occurred nationwide," Smith and hiscolleagues wrote. The researchers also acknowledged that the study underestimated the number of injuries related to falling out of a window because it included only those children treated in emergency rooms. An additional limitation is that the case narratives often lacked details about the circumstances surrounding the injury, including any suicidal intent.