UW Health joins ‘telementoring’ effort to spread knowledge about pediatric care

When children in the street are hit by motor vehicles, their injuries can be worse than for adults, a pediatric trauma expert from Madison recently told health care workers from around Wisconsin.

Children’s ribs are softer, so their lungs can more easily bruise, said Ben Eithun, pediatric trauma program manager at UW Health’s American Family Children’s Hospital.

Kids usually have less fat to protect their abdomens, so their livers and spleens are more likely to bleed, Eithun said. Their heads weigh more in proportion to their bodies, so they typically hit the ground head first.

“We see a lot higher incidence of head injuries in pedestrians who are younger,” he said.

Read more at the Wisconsin State Journal