A prospective study on domestic trampoline accidents

Introduction: The domestic use of trampolines is on the rise and the cause of an increasing need of medical care for injuries that occur during their use. Our aim was to pinpoint the epidemiologic and traumatological profiles of the patients, victim to accidents, who were cared for at the emergency department. METHOD We conducted a prospective bi-centric transversal study during a period of three months, on injuries reported as being the result of private trampoline use. We have taken into consideration the epidemiologic data concerning the victims, the types of injury and their treatment, as well as the respect of the safety recommendations that apply when using of this type of equipment. RESULTS During the collection period we identified 101 victims of trampoline accidents, mostly children between 6 and 14 (67%), with a media age of 8 [6-11], with 5 patients being over 18 years of age. The majority of the injuries were to the lower body (66%) followed by the upper body injuries (22%), and finally an equal amount for spine and craniofacial. A third of the lesions were fractures to the lower and upper body. A total of 80% of the traumas examined resulted in therapeutic intervention, the extend of which decreased significantly with the presence of a safety net on the trampoline in question. The safety equipment (nets, spring protection) were absent or defective in 7% of the cases. Trampolines were considered as dangerous by 40% of the patients or their parents but only 13% would consider removing them. CONCLUSION Playing on trampolines is a hazardous activity, causing sometimes serious injury often through ignorance or non-respect of safety recommendations. A public campaign must be launched to raise awareness of trampoline users concerning the dangers of this activity and the necessity of respecting these recommendations.