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Hazardous use of car seats outside the car in the United States, 2003–2007  

This study (Parikh SN, Wilson L. Pediatrics. 2010 Jul 5; e-pub ahead of print) examines improper use of car seats outside of a car.

The study authors examined car seat-related injuries to children under one year of age who were treated in emergency departments from 2003 to 2007 (excluding injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes). They found more than 43,500 car seat-related injuries during this time period, with 62.4 percent of the injuries occurring in infants younger than four months.

The most common causes of injury were infants falling from car seats, car seats falling from elevated surfaces, and car seats overturning on soft surfaces.

The authors stress the importance of eliminating improper use of car seats outside of the car and the need to caution caregivers against placing car seats on elevated or soft surfaces.

CSN will provide copies of the article to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff on request: csn@edc.org

Date Posted: 7/27/2010

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The findings and conclusions in these newsletter materials are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Children's Safety Network.