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Review Article
Online Published: 24 Oct 2025
 


Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes

Naif Ali S Alaji, Hannan Sameer Abolouz, Zakryah Abdulrhman Jar, Abdulwahab Mohammed Felimban, Dania Mohammed Raffa, Faris Almanea, Engy Ahmed Hassan Abdelaziz, Muath Saeed Alamri, Ahmed Abdulaziz Alkhuraymi, Abdulaziz Aati Almalki, Talal Mohammed Aljohani, Ammar Aied Alhazmi.


Abstract
Pediatric trauma is a leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits and mortality. Contemporary care shows rapid triage, pediatric-ready ED systems, and judicious imaging to reduce ionizing radiation exposure while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. This study aimed to synthesize original evidence on patterns, interventions, and outcomes in pediatric ED trauma care, focusing on prehospital time, ED pediatric readiness, and imaging strategies. A systematic review was performed of ten original studies and complemented the interpretation with eight contextual studies for the discussion. Outcomes included mortality, complications, ED/hospital utilization, and test accuracy. In multicenter cohorts, higher ED pediatric readiness was associated with lower mortality (adjusted odds ratios =0.58–0.65) and potentially large numbers of lives saved system-wide. Prehospital analyses suggested a non-linear relation between time and mortality, with the lowest risk around 45–60 minutes. Among admitted children, self-transport was common and linked to under-activation of trauma teams and longer ED stay. Imaging work showed Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) rules maintain good negative predictive value for clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) and intra-abdominal injury, whole body computed tomography (WBCT) confers no mortality benefit versus selective CT, and Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) offers moderate sensitivity but high negative predictive value (NPV) when negative. Strengthening ED pediatric readiness, optimizing activation for self-transport arrivals, aiming for efficient (<60 min) transport, and adopting validated imaging decision rules improve outcomes while minimizing morbidity and mortality.

Key words: Pediatric trauma, emergency department, prehospital time, PECARN, systematic review


 
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How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Alaji NAS, Abolouz HS, Jar ZA, Felimban AM, Raffa DM, Almanea F, Abdelaziz EAH, Alamri MS, Alkhuraymi AA, Almalki AA, Aljohani TM, Alhazmi AA. Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. IJMDC. Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471

Web Style

Alaji NAS, Abolouz HS, Jar ZA, Felimban AM, Raffa DM, Almanea F, Abdelaziz EAH, Alamri MS, Alkhuraymi AA, Almalki AA, Aljohani TM, Alhazmi AA. Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. https://www.ijmdc.com/?mno=288638 [Access: October 24, 2025]. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Alaji NAS, Abolouz HS, Jar ZA, Felimban AM, Raffa DM, Almanea F, Abdelaziz EAH, Alamri MS, Alkhuraymi AA, Almalki AA, Aljohani TM, Alhazmi AA. Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. IJMDC. Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471


Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Alaji NAS, Abolouz HS, Jar ZA, Felimban AM, Raffa DM, Almanea F, Abdelaziz EAH, Alamri MS, Alkhuraymi AA, Almalki AA, Aljohani TM, Alhazmi AA. Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. IJMDC, [cited October 24, 2025]; Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471


Harvard Style

Alaji, N. A. S., Abolouz, . H. S., Jar, . Z. A., Felimban, . A. M., Raffa, . D. M., Almanea, . F., Abdelaziz, . E. A. H., Alamri, . M. S., Alkhuraymi, . A. A., Almalki, . A. A., Aljohani, . T. M. & Alhazmi, . A. A. (2025) Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. IJMDC, Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471


Turabian Style

Alaji, Naif Ali S, Hannan Sameer Abolouz, Zakryah Abdulrhman Jar, Abdulwahab Mohammed Felimban, Dania Mohammed Raffa, Faris Almanea, Engy Ahmed Hassan Abdelaziz, Muath Saeed Alamri, Ahmed Abdulaziz Alkhuraymi, Abdulaziz Aati Almalki, Talal Mohammed Aljohani, and Ammar Aied Alhazmi. 2025. Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471


Chicago Style

Alaji, Naif Ali S, Hannan Sameer Abolouz, Zakryah Abdulrhman Jar, Abdulwahab Mohammed Felimban, Dania Mohammed Raffa, Faris Almanea, Engy Ahmed Hassan Abdelaziz, Muath Saeed Alamri, Ahmed Abdulaziz Alkhuraymi, Abdulaziz Aati Almalki, Talal Mohammed Aljohani, and Ammar Aied Alhazmi. "Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471


MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Alaji, Naif Ali S, Hannan Sameer Abolouz, Zakryah Abdulrhman Jar, Abdulwahab Mohammed Felimban, Dania Mohammed Raffa, Faris Almanea, Engy Ahmed Hassan Abdelaziz, Muath Saeed Alamri, Ahmed Abdulaziz Alkhuraymi, Abdulaziz Aati Almalki, Talal Mohammed Aljohani, and Ammar Aied Alhazmi. "Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. Web. 24 Oct 2025 doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471


APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Alaji, N. A. S., Abolouz, . H. S., Jar, . Z. A., Felimban, . A. M., Raffa, . D. M., Almanea, . F., Abdelaziz, . E. A. H., Alamri, . M. S., Alkhuraymi, . A. A., Almalki, . A. A., Aljohani, . T. M. & Alhazmi, . A. A. (2025) Trauma care in pediatric emergency departments: a systematic review of patterns, interventions, and outcomes. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, Online First: 24 Oct, 2025. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1759781471




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