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Biomedical subjects

J W Nixon

Publications and source records attributed to J W Nixon.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Bicycle riding and oral/maxillofacial trauma in young children.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the frequency of oral/maxillofacial injuries in children who have had a bicycle incident and to relate this to the wearing of a protective helmet. DESIGN: Part of a larger prospective study in which self-administered questionnaires were completed by each child with bicycle-related injuries and their parents or caregivers. SETTING: Two tertiary-referral children's hospitals (between 1 April 1991 and 30 June 1992) and three general hospitals (between 1 August 1991 and 30 June 1992) in Brisbane. PARTICIPANTS: 813 children aged under 15 years who presented to the accident and emergency departments with bicycle-related injuries. RESULTS: There were 321 children (39.5%) who sustained oral/maxillofacial injuries. Of 1355 injuries, 340 (25.1%) were to the facial region. Of the 153 children admitted to hospital for bicycle-related injuries, 94 (61.4%) had oral/maxillofacial injury as the primary reason for admission (including those with a reduced level of consciousness). Of the 66 children with a reduced level of consciousness, 53 had concomitant facial injuries. The most common oral/maxillofacial injuries were facial abrasions, cuts and lacerations (50.3%); soft tissue injuries to the mouth (30.9%); and dentoalveolar trauma (9.7%). Over half of these children were wearing bicycle helmets. Of the 15 facial fractures (mandibular, nasal, and zygomatico-orbital), 10 were in children wearing helmets. CONCLUSIONS: Oral/maxillofacial injuries are frequent among child bicycle riders, even for those who wear Australian Standards-approved bicycle helmets. Bicycle helmets need design modifications (e.g., lightweight chin protectors) to more adequately protect the face and jaw.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Suffocation, choking, and strangulation in childhood in England and Wales: epidemiology and prevention.

The causes, classification, and prevention of mechanical asphyxial death in children were examined. The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) identified children, under 15 years of age, who had died as a result of choking, suffocation, or strangulation in England and Wales during the years 1990 and 1991. Cases in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes of E911-3, E953, E963, and E983 were selected and case details from HM coroners' records and the death certificates were extracted. The OPCS identified 136 children (99 boys, 37 girls) in the two year period, 65% were under 3 years of age. The children were classified as dying from choking (21 cases), aspirating gastric contents (39 cases), suffocation (29 cases), strangulation (11 cases), and hanging (36 cases). The strangulation cases could be further subdivided into a group of 12 younger children who were suspended from ligatures around the home and a group of 21 boys (8-14 years) who died of self initiated hanging. Overall, 11 children were deliberately killed and 31 children died in beds or cots. Children whose deaths are classified as being due to aspiration of vomit appear to be cases of the sudden infant death syndrome or background medical conditions. This study suggests the need for advice on maintaining a safe sleeping environment. Only one child choked on a toy and European Standards for Toy Safety appear to have been successful. The prevention of hanging in the group of older boys needs further exploration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Children and bicycles: what is really happening? Studies of fatal and non-fatal bicycle injury.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to ascertain the causes of accidents, injuries, and deaths in children who ride bicycles. Fatality and injury rates were also studied in order to compare with other studies. METHODS: Two studies of children were undertaken in children aged less than 15 years. In the first (retrospective fatality study), children who died as a result of a bicycle incident during the period 1981-92 were reviewed. In the second (prospective injury study) data were obtained prospectively between April 1991 and June 1992 about children who were injured while riding a bicycle and treated at a public hospital in Brisbane. RESULTS: Study 1: fatality rates for boys were twice those for girls. The rate was highest for boys of 14 years in the metropolitan area at 6.23/100,000. All deaths involved vehicles, and the majority involved head injury or multiple injuries including head injury. Study 2: similar numbers of children were injured at onroad and off-road locations. Faculty riding was described by the rider or caregiver as the cause in 62.5% of cases. The most common time of injury was between 3 and 6 pm on both school and non-school days. Only 5.5% of all incidents involved a moving vehicle. CONCLUSIONS: Bicycle riding by children is a common cause of injury, particularly for boys. Equal numbers of injuries occurred on the road as at other locations. Faulty riding caused most accidents. Injury prevention for bicycle riders should involve not only compulsory wearing of helmets, but should also include education and training about safe riding habits, separation of motorised vehicles from bicycles, modified helmet design to incorporate facial protection, and improved handlebar design.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1994

Bicycle incidents in children--abdominal trauma and handlebars.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the frequency and causes of bicycle related abdominal injuries in children and to examine the pattern of presentation. DESIGN: The study was a prospective study of bicycle related injury in children less than 15 years of age presenting to two paediatric hospitals (15 April-30 June 1992) and three general hospitals (1 August 1991-30 June 1992). RESULTS: In a series of 813 children, 41 sustained non-penetrating abdominal trauma due to a bicycle incident. In 21 cases, handlebar trauma was responsible. Ten of these children suffered life-threatening intra-abdominal injury. Handlebars with no plastic or foam covering of the metal ends were involved in all ten cases. In several of these cases, presentation to hospital was delayed and in others confirmation of the extent of injury took up to 48 hours. The length of hospital stay for those with significant intra-abdominal organ damage ranged from two to 156 days. CONCLUSIONS: Intra-abdominal trauma must be considered when dealing with children who are victims of bicycle trauma. Impact with handlebars may have occurred and some form of padded protection of handlebar ends is recommended unless their design can be suitably modified.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1994

Patterns of scald injuries.

OBJECTIVES: To describe common patterns of bath water scald injuries in children, to examine differences between accidental and non-accidental bath water scalds in children, and to examine potential for prevention. DESIGN: A two year six month retrospective analysis of admissions to a specialist burns unit. SETTING: The Burns Unit, St Lawrence Hospital, Chepstow serving children from south and west Wales. SUBJECTS: Sixty eight children attending the Burns Unit for treatment of bath related scald injuries. RESULTS: Bath scalds in children under 5 years of age was the cause of 14.7 per 100,000 children being admitted to the specialist burns unit in a year. The majority of the children were injured by falling in the bath but the tap was turned on by seven children themselves and by 10 siblings. Six children put hands in the hot water and two children were accidentally put into bath water that was too hot and were quickly withdrawn. Four children suffered probably non-accidental immersion scald injuries from hot water. They were characterised by a clear tide mark, a story that did not fit the injuries, associated injuries, and by symmetrical lesions. Accidental scalds were irregular geographical injuries and were asymmetrical. CONCLUSIONS: Bath scalds are a significant problem in children under 5 years. Their prevention should be part of an injury control programme on a local and national level. The best way to achieve this would be by reducing the temperature in domestic hot water tanks. The recognition of non-accidental bath scalds can be assisted by the pointers outlined and should be done in a multidisciplinary way with plastic surgeons, paediatricians, and social workers working together.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1979

Swimming ability of children: a survey of 4000 Queensland children in a high drowning region.

The swimming ability of 4128 Queensland school children was studied. The median age for swimming 10 metres is 6.5 years. Ninety-five percent of children are able to swim by 11 years of age. Cumulative frequency curves, by age, are presented for the ability to swim 10 and 50 metres: the latter distance is of relevance in boating accidents. Twenty percent fewer children from lower socioeconomic levels are able to swim. Water safety training is as important as swimming lessons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Autoradiographic evidence for the association of DNA with intracytoplasmic A-particle inclusions in situ.

Mice with subcutaneous transplants of a Leydig cell tumor were given tritiated thymidine sc proximal to the tumor mass. The labeled tissue was collected and samples for autoradiography were taken. Nuclei and intracytoplasmic. A particle(s) (CAP) were purified from the remainder of the tumor pool. The distribution of radioisotopic grains over electron microscopic autoradiography was semiquantitated and analyzed. Granin were found over CAP inclusions in situ. Comparison of the relative frequency of CAP-associated grains to nuclear grains by probability on a planar area basis revealed a higher frequency of thymidine incorporation into these structures. Isolation and comparison of the DNA(s) associated with CAP and nuclei showed a higher specific activity for CAP-associated DNA than for nuclear DNA, which was in good agreement with the autoradiographic analysis. The DNA associated with the purified CAP possessed a significantly higher buoyant density in CsCl than did the nuclear DNA. These reslult implied that this DNA was present in CAP inclusions in situ.

Animals↗