461 - Incidence of Pediatric Farm Injuries Presenting to United States Emergency Departments: A 10-Year Review

Publication Number: 461.5340

Charu Jain, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States; Uma Balachandran, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New york, NY, United States; Luca M. Valdivia, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States; Sheena Ranade, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States

Background: Pediatric farm-related injuries, while less common relative to other pediatric injuries, are often more severe. Agricultural youth injuries can require more costly treatment and greater rates of hospitalization, and can often result from industrial hazards, unsafe worksites, or agricultural recreational activities. Injuries in rural areas additionally often require travel to larger hospitals for specialized treatment, resulting in delays to receive care.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the trends in farm-related injuries among youth presented to emergency departments (EDs) in the United States (US).

Design/Methods: All data was extracted from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a publicly available database representing approximately 100 US EDs. NEISS was queried for all injuries with farms (inclusive of land, pasture, farm, barn, outbuildings) listed as their location of incident. Queries were restricted to fractures from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2023.

Results: From 2014 to 2023, a total of 750 emergency department visits from farm-related injuries were identified, resulting in a national estimate (NE) of 33,664. This decreased significantly across the study period (P=0.012). The most common diagnosis was fracture (NE 7337, 21.8% of all injuries), while males (52.1%) and females (47.9%) were affected somewhat equally. When stratifying by age, it was found that 12 year olds comprised more farm-related injuries than any other age years (NE: 3,185, 9.5%), followed by 11 year olds (NE: 2,769, 8.2%), who also endured the highest amount of injuries to the head (NE: 711, 13.2% of all head injuries). The most commonly affected body part across ages was the head, (NE 5384, 16% of all injuries). The most common mechanism of injury was horseback riding (NE 10691, 31.8% of all injuries). The overall rate of hospitalization across 2014-2023 was 13.5%.

Conclusion(s): Although the overall number of farm-related injuries in young people has decreased over time, most are caused by horseback riding, with the majority involving the head, resulting in high hospitalization rates. 11-12 year olds are most affected, highlighting the importance of continuing targeted prevention efforts, as these injuries pose significant risk of serious harm. Although occupational hazards are also of concern, this study shows that younger patients are also commonly affected by farm injuries, emphasizing the need for increased focus on child access and safety measures in agricultural recreational activities.

The National Estimate (NE) Frequency of farm-related injuries presenting to U.S. EDs by Year Between 2014-2023


Top 5 most commonly injured body parts in farm-related incidents presenting to U.S. EDs Between 2014-2023


The National Estimate (NE) Frequency of farm-related injuries presenting to U.S. EDs by Age