How dangerous could that laptop, desktop, or Mac sitting in front of you be?

    The first report to count computer-related emergency room injuries shows that each year more and more Americans are tripping over cords, dropping monitors, banging heads and snagging limbs.

    Emergency room visits from computer injuries increased sevenfold between 1994 and 2006, according to a report published June 9 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

    The first report to count computer-related emergency room injuries shows that each year more and more Americans are tripping over cords, dropping monitors, banging heads and snagging limbs.

    Worse, the number of injuries outpaced the number of new computers in the home. While injuries jumped 732 percent, household computer ownership increased by just 309 percent.

    "The numbers look overwhelming but think about how in 2006 we had 115 million emergency room visits in the U.S., then visits from computers was 0.008 percent," said Dr. Charlene Irvin, of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

    Since this study was limited to only 100 hospitals, counting computers injuries from all hospitals would likely bump up that percentage. But Irvin doubts computer woes would ever make the top 10 list.

    While more common causes of emergency room visits such as gunshots and motor vehicle accidental injuries of course got more media attention, she was pleased to see information from external cause of injury codes （e-codes） used to document why people came into the emergency room. Irvin said only 17 states voluntarily submit e-codes.

    Indeed, the report highlighted details that are hard to come by in many emergency room statistics. For instance, computer equipment falling on a person caused more E.R. visits [21.1 percent] than did tripping or falling on the computer, [18.2 percent of visits]. Also, males were more 7 percent more likely to injure themselves on the computer than females.

    The data also showed head injuries increased until 2003, and then went on a decline. The authors guessed that the move to thinner LCD screens from the heavy, boxy cathode ray tube monitors had a safety benefit.

    "If a person comes into the ER and says 'I dropped a computer monitor on my foot,' they're not saying 'I dropped my LCD monitor on my foot' or 'I dropped my cathode ray tube computer monitor on my foot,'" McKenzie explained.

    Perhaps the most concerning revelation from the report was the ever-increasing number of children injured by computers. McKenzie said each year children made up a greater proportion of the already growing numbers of people heading to the emergency room with computer accidents.

    "Young children under 5 had the highest overall injury rate, and they had the greatest injury rate increase over any group," said McKenzie. "There are a lot of young children, really young children, using computers these days."

    Doctors' safety advice for computers matter follows basic home safety rules: keep heavy objects like computers away from edges and on secured, stable furniture, keep cords secured and out of reach, and keep an eye on the child.

    "Computers are not play toys. They are made up of heavy （crushing!）, often moveable （catching!） parts, all of which are strung together with wires and cords （strangulation risk!） and then plugged into an electrical source （electrocution risk!）," Dr. Lara Zibners, author of "If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay," wrote in an e-mail to abcnews.com.

    放在你跟前的手提電腦、臺式電腦或者蘋果公司的微機有多危險呢？

    第一個將電腦和急診室聯系起來的研究報告表明，每年越來越多的美國人被電腦線絆倒、被掉下來的顯示器砸到頭和四肢。

    在美國的一個雜志《預防醫學》上6月9號發表的一篇文章談到，從1994年到2006年，由于電腦而受傷進急診室的人數增加了7倍。

    更糟糕的是，受傷的人數超過家庭擁有電腦的數目。受傷人數增長了732%,而電腦占有數只增加了309%.

    "以上數據也許看起來很多，但是想想在2006年我們一共有150萬人進了急診室，那么由于電腦而受傷進急診室的人數就只占0.008%."美國急診室內科學院的博士Charlene Irvin說。

    由于這項研究只在100所醫院中進行，如果將所有的醫院都算進來，也許由于電腦受傷進急診室的百分比會顯著增加。但是 Irvin 對于電腦這項隱患能進前十名十分懷疑。

    相比更加普遍的進急診室的原因，比如槍擊和車禍，更能吸引媒體的注意，但是她很高興看到有關于其它的人們為什么進急診室的原因編碼，形成文件。 Irvin 說只有17個州自動提交了編碼。

    這份報告甚至對一些在急診室很難收集的數據也有很細節的描述。比如，由于計算機砸到人身上引起的急診室就診事件（21.1%）多于被電腦絆倒或摔到電腦上的事件（18.2%）.男人由于電腦受傷人數比女人因電腦受傷的人數多7%.

    數據還顯示頭部受傷事件在2003年及以前是增長的，之后開始下降。作者猜測由笨重的陰極管顯示器變為薄的液晶顯示屏，更加安全了。

    McKenzie解釋說："當一個在急診室就診的病人說'我把電腦的顯示器砸到腳上了',那個人是在說'我把陰極管電腦顯示器砸到腳上了',而不是說'我把液晶顯示屏砸到腳上了'."

    也許，在這篇報告中最受關注的是孩子們由于電腦受傷的人數不斷增加。McKenzie說每年兒童由于電腦受傷的人數在逐年增加的因電腦受傷的人數中占了很大比例。

    McKenzie說："5歲以下的兒童在受傷率上最高，他們相比其他人群更容易受傷。現在有很多小孩，十分小的小孩，在使用電腦。"

    關于電腦事件的醫生安全建議遵循以下基本的家庭安全規范：不要將笨重的物品比如電腦放在邊緣處，而是放置在安全的、穩定的家具上，電腦線要保證安全，不要放在手邊，時刻注意孩子們。

    "電腦不是玩具娃娃。它們是由重物組成的（危險！）,通常是可移動的（可拿到）部分，這些部分是由各種線連接的（絆倒危險！）,這些電線接通電源（觸電危險！）."《如果你的小孩吃這本書，那么一切仍將美好》的作者--Lara Zibners博士在一封給 abcnews.com的郵件中寫到。