Washington : Indian origin
researcher Harsh Grewal and colleagues at Temple University have found
that ill-fitting seatbelts increase the risk of serious injury
particularly spinal cord injury to children involved in car accidents.
As part of the study, researchers reviewed 10 years' worth of medical literature on motor vehicle accidents and children.
The
study found that children involved in car accidents who were
inappropriately strapped in seatbelts were at higher risk for
'seat-belt syndrome,' a complex of injuries to the spine and abdomen.
Researchers
suggested that when healthcare professionals see bruising or seat belt
marks in paediatric car accident victims, they should have a high
degree of suspicion about more serious injury.
'Unless
physicians are diligent, spinal-cord injuries are hard to diagnose in
children. In the event of a car accident, seat belt injuries such as
bruising and tenderness should warrant a search for other injuries,
including spinal-cord injury, vertebral fractures and intra-abdominal
injuries. If spinal-cord injury is missed or not diagnosed early, the
consequences can be devastating,' Grewal said.
Researchers
recommended that an evaluation of a child or adolescent car-accident
victim should include a complete work-up for vertebral, spinal cord and
intra-abdominal injuries. In addition to bruises or marks from the seat
belt, clues of more serious injury included abdominal and/or spine
tenderness, and neurological deficits
In general, seat belts and safety restraints should be adjusted according to age and weight.
The findings of the study were published in the August issue of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine.
--- ANI