Study by Leipzig University Medical Center: Forearm fractures most common after falls from bunk beds

They are in vogue with many families: bunk beds in all shapes and colors, with stairs, ladders or even slides. A study by Leipzig University Medical Center has shown that accidents involving such beds frequently lead to bone fractures in children. -Parents should be especially careful with children younger than ten. Children under the age of six do not belong in bunk beds at all, says study leader Prof. Martin Lacher.
Children should not use raised beds before school age. -50 percent of the fractures associated with accidents from these beds would not have occurred at all in our country if their use had been prohibited for children under six years of age-, says Martin Lacher, Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Pediatric Surgery at Leipzig University Hospital.
Prof. Lacher and his team are increasingly treating children who have fallen from bunk beds and have therefore examined the specific case numbers. They looked at how many of the children suffered a fracture after falling from bunk beds and included everyone younger than 18. 162 patients who suffered injuries from a bunk bed were treated at Leipzig University Medical Center from January 2014 to December 2021. -The results show that children younger than six are particularly at risk. It is not until the age of ten that fractures become less likely-, says Lacher.
On average, the children treated were five years old and 60 percent were boys. Infants up to three years of age suffered fractures in 45 percent of cases. Between the ages of three and five, fractures were 50 percent, and among six- to nine-year-olds, 60 percent. It was not until the age of ten that accidents involving bunk beds resulted in fractures in only 30 percent of cases.
The most common fractures suffered by those affected were to the forearm, followed by the collarbone and upper arm. In six percent of the cases, the children even suffered skull fractures. Fifteen percent required surgery, 26 percent of the patients were hospitalized. There were no deaths. Prof. Lacher, a Leipzig university physician, recommends: -When using such beds, there should be at least two bars on top of each other and carpeting in the children’s room.
Original publication in medicina: Bunk-Bed-Related Fractures in Children: Are We Aware of the Risks? Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58060749
Anne Grimm