Researchers from American University of Beirut and Yale University analyzed five years of insurance claims (2012–2016) covering over 70,000 injured children in Lebanon. They wanted to understand how much child injuries actually cost the healthcare system and which types of injuries were most expensive to treat.
The study examined claims from the four largest health insurance administrators covering more than half of Lebanon's insurance market, giving a clear picture of direct medical costs for treating childhood injuries.
Most injuries are minor, but fractures cost the most
Eight out of ten injured children were treated in the emergency department and sent home the same day. However, the costs tell a different story: inpatient hospital stays (overnight or longer) accounted for over half of all spending, even though they represented only a small fraction of cases.
Superficial wounds, lacerations, and soft tissue injuries were the most common injuries treated. Yet upper and lower extremity fractures—which made up only 7% of all injuries—consumed 28% of total costs. This means fractures required significantly more expensive care, including imaging, surgery, and longer recovery periods.
Boys are injured more often, and costs add up across the system
Nearly two-thirds of injured children were boys. Across the five-year period, the 70,640 children treated for 87,102 injuries generated direct medical costs of $19.5 million—a substantial burden on the healthcare system and families with insurance.
This Lebanese data comes from a region (Eastern Mediterranean) that reports 20% of the world's child injuries and some of the highest child injury death rates. While this study was conducted in Lebanon and may not exactly match Singapore's healthcare costs or injury patterns, it highlights how quickly injury-related expenses accumulate in any health system.
Prevention and standard care protocols could reduce costs
The researchers concluded that because inpatient care drives most costs, identifying which injuries truly need hospital admission—and which can be safely managed in emergency departments—could reduce spending. They also emphasized that injury prevention programs deserve investment, since preventing fractures and serious injuries is far cheaper than treating them.
- Focus prevention efforts on fracture-prone activities (sports, climbing, falls), as fractures generate disproportionately high treatment costs despite being less common than minor cuts.
- Ensure children receive prompt, appropriate emergency care for fractures, since delays may lead to more expensive complications requiring inpatient admission.