Within six and 12 months of a child being hospitalized for a head injury they had another head injury, according to follow-up telephone calls and re-admissions data for 11,000 former patients at two Montreal hospitals.
Université du Montreal's Bonnie Swaine, who co-authored the study, said to Canadian Press: "Children who have a head injury are almost twice as likely to have a second head injury."
She added the likelihood increase was compared to other extremity injuries that children had suffered, like sprained wrists or ankles.
However, young boys who have had a head injury before were the most at risk to get hit in the head again within the year, though no definite pattern emerged.
Swaine had hoped some sort of prevention strategy could emerge from the research if there were any set patterns, which was based on the fact that doctors seem to see the same kids for the same head injuries time-and-again.
