378 - Racing Toward Disaster: A 10-Year Retrospective Analysis of Injuries Sustained by Children in the Annual International Amateur Motocross Championship in North Florida

Saturday, April 29, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 378
Publication Number: 378.212

Erin Bruney, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States; Kalei M. Rollins, UF Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville, FL, United States; Colleen K. Gutman, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States; Carolyn K. Holland, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Tricia Swan, University of Florida College of Medicine, High Springs, FL, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Carolyn K. Holland, MD, MEd (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor - Emergency Medicine, Division Chief - Pediatric Emergency Medicine
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida, United States

First Author(s)

Colleen K. Gutman, MD (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
University of Florida College of Medicine
Gainesville, Florida, United States

Background: Pediatric competitive motocross is an international sport in which children as young as four race on two-wheeled motorized dirt bikes on uneven terrain. Those who participate in competitive motocross wear helmets and full body protective gear. However, given the potential for high-velocity, high-impact collisions and falls, these children and adolescents remain at risk for significant traumatic injury.

Objective: In order to understand how child health is affected by participation in competitive motocross racing, we aim to assess the characteristics of pediatric traumatic injuries sustained over a 10-year period at the "Thor-Mini O's", an annual international amateur motocross championship in North Florida.

Design/Methods: This is a retrospective single-center analysis. We included children under 18 years who were cared for within the UFHealth Shands Gainesville Hospital system for a motocross related injury during the annual “Thor Mini O’s” championship series between 2011-2021. Data were collected through in depth chart review and analyzed with descriptive statistics (proportions, medians, interquartile range). We used chi-square and Fisher’s exact test to compare findings by age (child less than 12 years vs adolescent 12 years or older).

Results: Two-hundred and fifty-four encounters representing 246 children were included in the analysis (Table 1). The median age was 14 years; 21% were children under 12 years. Nearly all children (98%) underwent imaging: 183 of the 237 children who had an x-ray (77.2) and 65 of the 101 children who had a CT (64.4%) had at least one abnormal traumatic finding. Table 2 shows a summary of traumatic injuries. Adolescents were more likely to require hospital admission than children less than 12 years old (29.7% vs 25%, p = 0.046). There was no difference in need for a procedural intervention in the ED or OR by age. There was one fatality in an adolescent with a spinal cord injury.

Conclusion(s): To our knowledge, this single center study represents the largest cohort of pediatric competitive motocross injuries. Our findings demonstrate that children and adolescents who participate in amateur competitive motocross can experience significant morbidity and mortality despite the use of protective equipment. Our findings are of critical importance to inform advocacy efforts and parent education regarding the safety risks of competitive motocross for children.