Introduction:​ Although airbags have reduced the incidence of fatal and severe injuries in automobile collisions, they have increased the risk of less severe injuries, such as skin abrasions, upper extremity injuries, and skin burns.1 The purpose of this study was to elucidate the incidence and injury patterns of burn injuries in frontal automobile crashes.

Methodology:​ For this study, cases in the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) were selected for the years 1993 to 2000 that included drivers and front seat passengers, and excluded ejected occupants and rollovers.2 In addition, only frontal impacts were considered, which have a Primary Direction of Force (PDOF) of 11, 12, or 1 o’clock. Burn injuries were identified using the current AIS burn injury codes.3 Weighted frequencies of injured occupants and occupant injuries were analyzed. Chi Square tests of independence were performed using the SUDAAN statistical software for weighted survey data (SUDAAN, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina).

Results:​ It was found that 1.54% of occupants exposed to an airbag deployment sustained a burn injury, compared with 0.02% of occupants not exposed to an airbag deployment (Figure 1). Occupants were at a significantly higher risk to sustain a burn injury when exposed to an airbag deployment compared with those occupants not exposed to an airbag deployment (p=0.02). Of the occupants exposed to an airbag deployment, 37,162 (85 cases) sustained a burn specifically from the airbag (1.53%). Of these occupants with airbag induced burn injury, 93.5% were drivers, while 6.5% were passengers.