Portacot-related injuries in toddlers aged 0-2 years

July 2008

From October 1995 to June 2007, there was a total of 22 cases of injury to toddlers related to portacots recorded in the Victoria Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD), with a peak of 23% of cases in 2005.

Age: More than half of the portacot-related injuries involved one-year-old toddlers (55%) (Figure 1).

Source: VEMD, Oct '95 – Jun ‘07
Figure 1: Portacot–related injury ED presentations by age (n=22)

Gender: Males (82%) were more frequently injured than female (18%).

Cause: Fall from or in the portacot (69%) was the most frequently reported cause of injury, followed by struck against the portacot (18%). Injuries due to portacots tipping and entrapment of body parts trapped in the portacot were less frequent, each cause accounting for less than 3 cases.

Nature of injury: Intracranial injuries were most common, occurring in 18% of all ED presentations. Superficial injury (such as bruises and abrasions), fractures and sprains/strains, each accounted for 14% of injuries (Figure 2).

Body region: The most frequently injured body regions were the head, face, and neck (46%), followed by the upper extremity, including fingers (27%) (Figure 3).

Source: VEMD, Oct '95 – Jun ‘07 Figure 2: Portacot–related injury ED presentations by type of injury (n=22)

Source: VEMD, Oct '95 – Jun ‘07 Figure 3: Portacot–related injury ED presentations by body region injured (n=22)

Location: Most portacot-related injuries occurred in the home (82%).

Discharge status: Of the 22 presentations, 19 (86%) of cases were discharged to home 3 cases (14%) were admitted to hospital.

Prevention: Ensure that the portacot complies with the mandatory safety standard based on the Australian standards for portacots AS/NZS 2195. Ensure that all locking devices are secure when the portacot is assembled and that the child cannot release them and collapse the portacot. Check that there are no tears in the mesh or fabric sides and no cracks in the side rails. Follow the assembly instructions closely when setting up the portacot. Children weighing more than 15kg should not be place in a portacot.

Further information:
Further information is available from Hazard editions 14, 37 and 44
www.monash.edu.au/muarc/VISU/hazard/index.html
Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (MCCA):
www.consumer.gov.au/html/pdf/baby.pdf
The Royal Children's Hospital Safety Centre Melbourne :
www.rch.org.au/emplibrary/safetycentre/10_Nursery.pdf