ARCHIVED - Injuries associated with... FIREWORKS

Entire CHIRPP database, as of May 1998, all ages

SUMMARY (175 records)

Injuries associated with fireworks were sustained most frequently by 10-14 year olds (42.3%). Of all injuries related to fireworks, 77.1% were to males. Over a third of the injuries (38.9%) occurred between the hours of 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. The injuries peaked in the days surrounding Halloween (20.0%), Victoria Day (15.4%) and Canada Day (8.6%). All injuries around Halloween were in Western Canada, while all injuries around Victoria Day were in Central Canada. Many injuries occurred around the patient's own home, 34.3%. Many patients were injured when the firework exploded while it was in their hands (28.0%). Overall, the most frequent types of injury were burns, 61.5%, and the body part most often affected was the head (39.7%). Eye injuries accounted for 20.6% of the injuries, approximately ten times higher than the average for all injuries in the CHIRPP database. Injuries that required advice only or minor treatment accounted for 30.9% of patients, while 56.6% of patients needed medical follow-up after leaving the emergency department and 12.6% were admitted to hospital. The percentage of firework injuries requiring hospitalization was approximately two times higher than the average for all injuries in the CHIRPP database.

In May 1998, a search of the entire CHIRPP database (777,901 records) was conducted. No age restriction was specified in the search. Records were selected i) if they contained a factor code for fireworks or firecrackers (code 795) or ii) if the text fields contained the following strings: "FIREWORK", "FIRECRACKER", "FEU D'ARTIFICE", "PETARD", "SKY ROCKET", "BOMBSHELL", "MORTAR", "FLARE", "SPARKLER", "ROMAN CANDLE" or "CATHERINE WHEEL". Selected records were then scanned and eliminated if the injury was not directly related to fireworks. The total number of records identified was 175.

OVERALL OCCURRENCE

The proportion of records in the entire CHIRPP database accounted for by firework-related injuries was 0.02%. The proportion of firework-related injuries has remained stable over time in the CHIRPP database.

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF INJURIES

^* Of all injuries in the CHIRPP database, 59.6% were sustained by males.
^** The number of firework injuries per 100,000 CHIRPP injuries of all types within the age group indicated. Because CHIRPP collects information from ten children's hospitals and only six of the general hospitals, there is a high number of young children in the database. Using number per 100,000 within an age group (instead of overall percent by age group) adjusts for different age group distributions.

TIME AT WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

^* Over a third of the injuries (40.6%) occurred between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight: 22 (12.6%) occurred between 8 and 9 p.m., 27 (15.4%) between 9 and 10 p.m., 19 (10.9%) between 10 and 11 p.m. and 3 (1.7%) after 11 p.m.

DAY DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

The injuries peaked in the days surrounding Halloween, Victoria Day and Canada Day. All injuries around Halloween were in Western Canada, while all injuries around Victoria Day were in Central Canada. The injuries around Canada Day were spread across the country.

Note: The following is a list of frequently occurring circumstances and factors in injuries related to fireworks. Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on 175 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

WHERE THE INJURY OCCURRED

TYPE OF FIREWORK INVOLVED IN INJURY

* Fireworks are a general term used to describe a type of explosive; firecrackers are small fireworks used solely as noisemakers. It is unclear whether the patients reporting the injuries are making a clear distinction between the two terms or whether they are using them interchangeably.

NATURE OF INJURY AND BODY PART INJURED

Up to three injuries may be specified for each record. Forty-five patients (25.7%) sustained more than one injury, 35 patients (20.0%) sustained two injuries and 10 patients (5.7%) sustained three.

TREATMENT PROVIDED IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

^* The percentage of all CHIRPP injuries that resulted in hospital admission was 6.2%.
^** Fatalities counted by CHIRPP include only those patients who were dead on arrival at the emergency department or who died in the emergency department. They do not include people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after hospital admission. Only 0.03% of all CHIRPP injuries were fatal.

PROFILE OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Of the 22 patients admitted to hospital, 20 patients were males and 2 were females; 17 patients were aged 10-14 years, 3 were aged 15-19 years, 1 was aged 5-9 years and another was 20 years or older.

A total of 11 patients were injured when the firework exploded in the patient's hands, 4 were injured when a firework exploded near them, 2 were burned by the firework while playing with it, 2 were injured when a firework was thrown at them, 1 was injured as a spectator of fireworks, 1 was injured while he was playing with firecrackers and gas and the gas caught fire and another was injured while playing with a cap gun and received firecrackers in the neck.

Burns were sustained by 12 patients (2 of the head, one of the forearm, 7 of the hand or finger, 1 of the lower leg and 1 of the foot). Four patients injured their eye. Three patients sustained a partial or complete amputation to their hand or finger. Two patients suffered cuts or lacerations (one of the neck and one of the pelvis) and 1 patient suffered an injury to a nerve of the hand.

SUGGESTED REFERENCE AND REPORTING INFORMATION

This report and data from it may be copied and circulated freely, provided that the source is acknowledged. The following citation is recommended:

Injury data were obtained from the database of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), Public Health Agency of Canada.

If data from this report are included in any other document or publication, it should be noted, where appropriate, that the information comes from sixteen hospitals (ten pediatric and six general) across Canada.

For additional information on the CHIRPP program, please contact the Child Injury Section, Public Health Agency of Canada by phone at (613) 941-9918 or by FAX at (613) 941-9927.