Home Medical Devices Injure 70K Kids Annually

(AP)  More than 70,000 children and teens go to the emergency room each year for injuries and complications from medical devices, and contact lenses are the leading culprit, the first detailed national estimate suggests.

About one-fourth of the problems were things like infections and eye abrasions in contact lens wearers. These are sometimes preventable and can result from wearing contact lenses too long without cleaning them.

Other common problems found by researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration include puncture wounds from hypodermic needles breaking off in the skin while injecting medicine or illegal drugs; infections in young children with ear tubes; and skin tears from pelvic devices used during gynecological exams in teen girls.

Malfunction and misuse are among possible reasons; the researchers are working to determine how and why the injuries occurred and also are examining the prevalence in adults. Those efforts might result in FDA device warnings, depending on what they find, said study co-author Dr. Brock Hefflin.

The most serious problems involved implanted devices such as brain shunts for kids with hydrocephalus (water on the brain); chest catheters for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at home; and insulin pumps for diabetics. Infections and overdoses are among problems associated with these devices. Only 6 percent of patients overall had to be hospitalized.

Dr. Steven Krug, head of emergency medicine at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, said the study highlights a trade-off linked with medical advances that have enabled chronically ill children to be treated at home and live more normal lives.

Home care can be challenging for families; Krug says he has seen children brought in because catheters were damaged or became infected.

"Health care providers need to be aware of these kids and their devices and how to recognize or diagnose" related problems, Krug said. He was not involved in the study.

The study appears in Pediatrics, published online Monday.

Hefflin and lead author Dr. Cunlin Wang work in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. They note there has been recent concern about medical device safety in children, particularly since many devices intended for adults are used in children.

The researchers analyzed medical records from ER visits reported in a national injury surveillance system. Based on data from about 100 nationally representative hospitals, they estimated that 144,799 medical device-related complications occurred during 2004 and 2005, or more than 70,000 yearly.

Almost 34,000 problems were linked with contact lenses in the two-year period. The rest were scattered among 12 other categories including general medical devices such as needles and catheters, gynecology devices and heart devices.

Hefflin said the study is the first to evaluate device-related injuries in children only. It did not include device problems in already hospitalized children.

[Myopinion046]

Good story.

[pragmatist1]

It's not the devices like contact lenses that are the culprit, but rather the careless, idiotic users of them who have filthy hygiene and reckless abandon putting them in, leaving them in too long, or taking them out improperly. Let's place the blame where it lies and stop this nanny state nonsense. I think it's a thing called personal accountability.

[MPHgrad]

Indeed pragmatist1!

[stn_sage]

Yeah, maybe so! But, recuperating in hospitals in the USA, kills over one hundred thousand per year! Both figures, from both these means, are far too high!

[ouchitatom]

This country aborts by the thousands each year before the child ever sees its'mothers face . Amother with her love will follow one of thier children to the death chamber and at times takes them there .

[hdc77494]

This is a headline looking for a story. 4,200hospitalizations in a population suffering health problems that used to KEEP chronically I'll kids in the hospital, and the rest are injection errors and dirty contacts? Thankfully the medical community has found a way to keep most of those kids OUT of the hospital. The nanny state morons at the FDA would have us institutionalize more of those kids. Right now the parents can weigh the risks and bring their kids home to a healthy environment. Does the FDA want to take away that choice, or just make it easier for their trial lawyer buddies to sue, making life miserable for the rest of us?

[curse914]

No kidding, too many wimps want to be institutionalized. When Reagan cut loose all the crazies from state owned insane asylums, I rejoiced at the genius. Bleeding heart liberal always thinking they are helping, when the best medicine for an insane person is sleeping on a street grate.

[book_of_wally]

by curse914 July 26, 2010 8:59 AM EDT
No kidding, too many wimps want to be institutionalized. When Reagan cut loose all the crazies from state owned insane asylums, I rejoiced at the genius. Bleeding heart liberal always thinking they are helping, when the best medicine for an insane person is sleeping on a street grate.
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Why yes now we can enjoy ourselves at sitting in traffic and see the crazy people have an conversation with Mr Streetlight or Mrs Newspaper Vending Box.