Accidental death in a pediatric population in Newfoundland and Labrador: an analysis of cases of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

• Main Author: Devereaux, Emily Jane
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2023
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/16275/

Introduction: Accidental death is the leading manner of pediatric death worldwide. In Newfoundland & Labrador (NL) published assessments of accidental pediatric death are limited. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of cases of accidental death in children and youth aged 0- to 21- years that occurred between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013 and were referred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of NL for investigation was carried out. Comparison was made between accidental death in NL and the provinces of New Brunswick (NB) and Manitoba (MB) matching ages and years of occurrence. Results: A total of 139 cases occurred with a mean age of 15.8 (+/-4.9) years. Males accounted for more cases than females (p<0.001). Leading cause of death was mechanical trauma due to an MVA (52%) (p<0.001). Within NL regional differences were present with the highest incidence of all accidental death occurring in the Labrador Grenfell Health region (p=0.002). When comparing NL to MB, rates of accidents were comparable. While comparing NL to NB saw more differences overall, among specific causes of death, and among sexes. Conclusion: Accident incidence differed significantly between the regions of the province with rural areas seeing more accidents than urban areas. NL was comparable for accident incidence to the province of MB and lower than NB in overall accidental death, cause specific death and among sexes.