Pumpkin carving knife injuries: National incidence and trends of hand injury.

INTRODUCTION: Seasonal media reports often describe the dangers of pumpkin carving, yet little data exists regarding the actual incidence of hand injuries resulting from pumpkin carving. The purpose of this study is to describe, quantify, and trend ED encounters associated with pumpkin-related knife injuries.

METHODS: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried for pumpkin-related knife injuries from 2012 to 2021. Patient demographic and injury data was collected and analyzed to describe trends in incidence, patient demographics, and injury patterns associated with an ED encounter for a pumpkin-related knife injury.

RESULTS: There were an estimated 20,579 (95% CI: 17,738-23,420) pumpkin-related knife injuries from 2012 to 2021. The incidence of pumpkin-related knife injuries remained stable over time (R2 = 0.195, P = 0.201). Hand injuries comprised 87.6% of all injuries, with the thumb (33.5%) and index finger (25.0%) most commonly affected. Men and women were injured at similar rates (51.6% vs 48.4%). The most common demographic injured were 10 to 19-year olds (31.5%) followed by children <10-years old (19.5%). Women ages 10 to 19-years old were the most commonly injured subgroup (10.0% of all injuries). Most ED presentations occurred on Saturdays (16.5%) or Sundays (23.3%). The large majority occurred during the months of October (83.5%) followed by November (11.2%), with almost half of all cases (45.6%) occurring in the last week of October. Peak incidence of injury occurred on October 30th.

CONCLUSION: Pumpkin-related knife injuries are a preventable cause of hand injury with predictably high-incidence in fall months. Additionally, our data suggests further precautions should be taken to prevent injury in pediatric patients. Understanding at-risk populations in addition to implementing public safety initiatives and education on safe pumpkin-carving techniques could prevent serious injuries in the future.