Injuries associated with baby gates and barriers among young children in the United States, 1990-2010

Objective: To describe the epidemiology of injuries associated with baby gates and barriers among children in the United States. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using nationally representative data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for children ≤6 years who were treated in emergency departments from 1990 through 2010 for injuries associated with gates or barriers. Results: An estimated 37,673 children (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30,169-45,178) were treated in emergency departments for injuries associated with gates and barriers during the study period, yielding an average of 1884 cases annually. Patients were primarily boys (61.0%), <2 years of age (60.4%), who had fallen (72.6%), and were not hospitalized (97.6%). Patients <2 years of age were most often injured by falls down stairs (OR: 6.72; 95% CI: 6.32 -7.16), typically following the collapse of the gate or when the gate had been left open. The resulting injuries were most often soft-tissue (51.3%) or traumatic brain injuries (32.5%). Patients 2 to 6 years old were most often injured by contact with the gate (OR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.95-2.12), usually when attempting to climb over the gate typically resulting in open-wounds (55.4%) and soft-tissue injuries (24.2%). Conclusions: Given the clear dichotomy between injury characteristics of patients <2 years and patients 2 to 6 years of age, and the prevalence of preventable injuries, greater efforts are needed to promote proper usage, ensure safety in product design, and increase awareness of age-related recommendations for use of baby gates and barriers.