P3D322: No More Kids Jumping on the Bed: Bed-related Injuries in Children Presenting to Emergency Departments, 2013-2022

Background: Jumping on the bed is anecdotally concerning for injury, so much so that parents are given anticipatory guidance and children are taught nursery rhymes to warn against it. However, there is currently a knowledge gap surrounding the frequency and significance of injuries received by children from jumping on (and falling off of) beds. This study aims to characterize the frequency and severity of bed-related injuries (BRI) that present to Emergency Departments in the United States.

Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was queried using the bed-related product codes (4076, 694, 661, 680, 662) for ED visits in the United States. A natural language processing search was applied to evaluate the frequency of injuries in ages 0-17 years from 2013-2022 whose narrative encounters included “jump”-indicating that the child was injured after jumping from the bed. All reported values are population national estimates generated from actual bed-related injury encounters. These were calculated using the NEISS-supplied weights and variance variables. Rao-Scott Chi-square was used for all categorical comparisons.

Results: From 2013 to 2022 there were 374,252 estimated bed-related injuries from 13,300 actual cases (95% Confidence Interval 258,423- 490,082). 61% of BRI occurred in children aged 0-4 years and 32% in children ages 5-9 years. Median age of children presenting to the ED for BRI was 3.46 years (interquartile range 2.18-5.49). 61% of BRI occurred in males, P < 0.01. 82% percent of BRI occurred at home, P < 0.01. 14% of all reported BRI resulted in a concussion. 29% of ED visits for BRI were treated for musculoskeletal injuries including fractures, sprains, and dislocations. 67% of BRI encounters resulted in soft tissue injury, such as bruising. Of BRI, 3% required escalation of care. Eight percent of all cases requiring escalation of care were due to concussions. Children injured after jumping from a bunk bed were two times more likely to require escalation of care compared to children jumping from regular beds, P < 0.01.

Conclusion: BRI occurred most often in children less than 10 years of age in their homes, often resulting in concussions, musculoskeletal injuries, and soft tissue injuries. While BRI rarely resulted in escalation of care, these injury patterns are of specific concern in the pediatric population due to potential impact on development. Results from this study can help inform targeted public health intervention and anticipatory guidance given by providers who care for children.