Approximately 2,000 children are treated in United States hospital emergency rooms annually for escalator-related injuries.
According to a study published in the August issue of Pediatrics and conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) in the Columbus Children's Research Institute at Columbus Children's Hospital, an estimated 26,000 U.S. children 19 years of age and younger were treated in a hospital emergency department for an escalator-related injury in 1990-2002.
"This study is the first to describe the epidemiology of escalator-related injuries among children using a national sample," said CIRP Director Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, senior author of the study and a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine. "Escalator designs that reduce the gap between the steps and sidewall or shield against access to the gap may decrease entrapment risk. This redesign approach provides automatic, or 'passive,' protection that is most likely to prevent entrapment injuries in all age groups."
Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission were used to estimate national numbers and rates of escalator-related injuries. The analysis included all patients in the NEISS database who were 0 to 19 years of age and were seen in an emergency department for an escalator-related injury during the 13-year period, 1990-2002.