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Le vélo demeure une activité populaire pour les enfants et les adolescents du monde entier; elle combine le plaisir de se déplacer rapidement et de nombreux avantages pour la santé et la société. Cependant, le vélo est également associé à un risque de blessures graves et de décès. Depuis dix ans, les recherches démontrent de plus en plus que l'amélioration de la sécurité des cyclistes dépend en grande partie de l'environnement dans lequel ils se déplacent et de mesures de sécurité individuelles comme le port du casque. Pour de nombreux enfants et adolescents, la pandémie a accru les possibilités de faire du vélo et, et elle ramené l'attention du public vers des infrastructures cyclables sécuritaires, telles que des voies cyclables réservées. Le présent document de principes passe en revue les données probantes en appui à des infrastructures cyclables plus sécuritaires pour les enfants et les adolescents, de même que les bienfaits du vélo pour la santé physique et mentale. Les avantages du transport actif chez les jeunes et l'influence de l'environnement bâti sur la sécurité et l'adoption du vélo sont exposés. Un aperçu des mesures que chacun peut prendre pour améliorer la sécurité à vélo est suivi de recommandations pour les cliniciens, la communauté des cyclistes, les parents et les décideurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cycling remains a popular activity for children and youth around the world, combining the fun of moving at speed with numerous health and societal benefits. However, cycling is also associated with risk for serious injury and death. Over the past decade, research has increasingly shown that improving safety for cyclists depends, in large part, on the environment they are cycling in as well as on individual safety measures such as helmet use. The pandemic provided greater opportunity for many children and youth to engage in cycling, and refocused public attention on safer cycling infrastructure such as protected bike lanes. This statement reviews the evidence supporting safer cycling infrastructure for children and youth along with the physical and mental health benefits of cycling. The advantages of active transportation for young people, and how the built environment influences their cycling safety and uptake, are discussed. An overview of measures individuals can take to improve cycling safety is followed by recommendations for clinicians, the cycling community, parents, and policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The purpose of this study is to describe the impact of the pandemic on poisoning in children under 18 years presenting to a tertiary care paediatric emergency department (ED) in Canada. Methods We utilized the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) surveillance data to identify children presenting to the Hospital for Sick Children for poisonings during two time periods: pre-pandemic (March 11 to December 31, 2018 and 2019) and pandemic (March 11 to December 31, 2020). Primary outcomes investigated the change in proportion for total poisonings, unintentional poisonings, recreational drug use, and intentional self-harm exposures over total ED visits. Secondarily, we examined the change in proportion of poisonings between age, sex, substance type, and admission requirement pre-pandemic versus during pandemic. Results The proportions significantly increased for total poisonings (122.5%), unintentional poisonings (127.8%), recreational drug use (160%), and intentional self-harm poisonings (104.2%) over total ED visits. The proportions over all poisoning cases also significantly increased for cannabis (44.3%), vaping (134.6%), other recreational drugs (54.5%), multi-substance use (29.3%), and admissions due to poisonings (44.3%) during the pandemic. Conclusion Despite an overall decrease in ED visits, there was a significant increase in poisoning presentations to our ED during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic years. Our results will provide better insight into care delivery and public health interventions for paediatric poisonings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Since the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic, there have been many changes in the presenting complaints in paediatric emergency departments (EDs). We sought to characterise the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on bicycle‐related injuries in children presenting to a tertiary care paediatric ED. Methods: We conducted a descriptive, cross‐sectional study of ED visits to a large urban tertiary children's hospital, comparing March to October 2020 (the study period) to the same date range 2 years prior (i.e. March to October 2018–2019). We included children 0–17.99 years presenting for a bicycle‐related injury. We compared absolute visit counts of bike injuries per month, demographics, triage acuity, injury type and disposition. Results: A total of 1215 bike‐related visits were analysed. There were 234 presentations in 2018 (March to October), 305 in 2019, and 676 in 2020. Overall, the mean age was 9.5 years (standard deviation 5.5–13.5), there were 67% males, median Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale score was 3 (interquartile range 3–4) and the most common injuries were fractures (n = 471, 38.8%). There were significantly more bike injuries presenting to the ED per month in the COVID group, 33.7(17.9) versus 84.5(61.4) (two‐tailed P value = 0.041). There was no statistical difference in 'severe injuries' pre‐ versus post‐COVID (odds ratio 0.815 (95% confidence interval 0.611–1.088), P = 0.165). Conclusion: There was a significant increase in bicycle‐related injuries presenting to our ED during the pandemic, compared to previous years. Evaluating these trends will allow for the exploration of harm reduction strategies for preventing future bicycle‐related injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]