Highchair accidents

In order to establish guidelines for highchair accident prevention we inves tigated causes, mode and complications of highchair accidents by the follow ing methods: The charts of 103 children attending our Accident & Emergency department for highchair related injuries were studied retrospectively. Que stionnaires were sent to the parents to obtain detailed information about t he mode of accident. They were also asked to suggest preventive measures. I n addition, a random sample survey was performed with 163 families inquirin g about the rate of highchair use and the incidence of highchair related ac cidents. Of the 103 infants, 15.5% had sustained a skull fracture, 13.6% a brain concussion, 2.0% limb fractures and 68.9% a simple contusion of the h ead or lacerations to the scalp or face. The questionnaires were fully comp leted by 61.2% of parents. Every second family reported that their infant h ad tried to stand up in the highchair before falling off (only one child ha d been wearing a restraint). In a further 14.3% of accidents the highchair tipped over. Eighty-seven percent of parents would appreciate a pre-install ation of restraints, 54.0% requested more informative instructions for user s, and 33.3% asked for products with better stability. The random sample su rvey revealed a highchair use rate of 92%; 18% of families used highchairs equipped with restraints, and 6% reported highchair accidents sustained by their children. We conclude that most highchair accidents occur when unrest rained infants try to stand up. Pre-installed child restraints, better manu als for users and increased highchair stability should be recommended as pr omising accident prevention strategies.