AN ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY BASED CHILD ACCIDENT SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM - IS IT POSSIBLE

Objective-To evaluate the possibility of setting up a database on chil dhood accidents within an accident and emergency (A&E) department. Des ign-A proforma detailing epidemiological details about the child and d etails of the injury was designed and tested for accuracy. It was comp leted in parallel with the existing case documentation. A retrospectiv e sample was analysed after completion of the study to determine times when data collection was poorest. Setting-Regional paediatric hospita l (total catchment population c. 500 000). Results-Of 13 958 patients in whom full information was available, 65% had all the information av ailable on the forms. Areas of discrepancy in the remainder included ( 1) transposition of date and time of injury with date and time of atte ndance (73%), (2) wrong coding (11%), (3) illegible digits (6%), (4) i naccurate data entry to computer (6%). Form completion was worst betwe en 1800 hours and midnight. Conclusions-Data collection is feasible in the A&E department and is a necessary step in effective child acciden t prevention. It should be done using real time entry onto computer sy stems. Additional audit staff must be employed to ensure data collecti on is as complete as possible as close to the time of the initial atte ndance as possible. Regular analysis of the findings is essential.