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Researchers looked at Pennsylvania's state trauma center database and identified 108 patients under age 18 who were treated between January 2004 and December 2014 for injuries they sustained while using a golf cart. These children averaged 11 years of age and spent anywhere from one to 26 days in the hospital for their injuries. Among other findings: There was one fatality, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission was required in 36 percent of the patients. More than three-quarters of the children (76 percent) broke at least one bone. Skull fractures were more prevalent than extremity fractures. More than a quarter of the children (27 percent) sustained a concussion, while between 25 percent and 30 percent of children had intracranial injury and bleeding within the skull. "Just because golf carts don't usually reach speeds other recreational vehicles can, this doesn't mean they are harmless," said Mariano Garay, MD, a Penn State College of Medicine researc...

The study abstract, "Persistent Opioid Usage among Pediatric Patients Following Surgery in the United States," will be presented on Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Marriott Marquis Chicago. Researchers examined data including nearly 90,000 privately insured U.S. patients between ages 13 and 21 (averaging age 17) with no previous opioid prescriptions who underwent one of 13 common surgeries for this age group, compared with a control sample. They looked for persistent opioid use, defined as continued prescription refills 90 to 180 days after the surgical procedure and beyond what is expected after routine surgery. They found the incidence of new persistent opioid use following surgery was 4.8 percent, ranging from 2.7 percent to 15.2 percent across procedures, as compared to 0.1 percent in the nonoperative control group. Gallbladder removal and colon surgery were among procedures associated with highest risk of new persistent opioid use, said lead abstract author Calista Harb...

The study abstract, "Gender Differences in Same-Day Return to Play Following Concussion Among Pediatric Soccer Players," will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 16, during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2017 National Conference & Exhibition in Chicago. The study examined young athletes, average age 14, who sustained a concussion while playing soccer and who were treated at a pediatric sports medicine clinic in Texas. Of the 87 athletes diagnosed with a soccer-related concussion, two-thirds (66.7 percent) were girls. Among them, more than half (51.7 percent) resumed playing in a game or practice the same day as their injury, compared to just 17.2 percent of boys. "The girl soccer players were 5 times more likely than boys to return to play on the same day as their concussion," said Shane M. Miller, MD, FAAP , senior author of the abstract and a sports medicine physician at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. "This is cause for concern, especial...