Motorcycle injuries:​ an MTOS perspective

Copes, Wayne S.; Dickman, Frances B.; Champion, Howard R.; Sacco, William J.

Affiliations

¹Tri-Analytics, Inc., Bel Air, Maryland, U.S.A.

²National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

³Surgical Critical Care Services, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Abstract

From 1982 through 1988, data on 127,536 patients were submitted to the American College of Surgeons Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS) by 164 institutions, most North American Level I or II trauma centers. Motorcycle injuries (N=8158) had high mortality rate (9.0%) and average lengths of stay in hospital (13.1 days) and in ICU (5.3 days) when compared with other causes of injury. Helmet use was recorded for less than 15% of patients. Those known to be helmeted (N=810) had lower injury severities and less frequent serious injuries to the head, brain or spinal cord than known non-helmeted patients (N=256). Significantly more non-helmeted patients (15.3%) than helmeted patients (8.5%) were discharged to rehab facilities. Positive blood alcohol levels were more frequent in non-helmeted patients. Among non-survivors, helmeted patients had higher ISS values (43.8 vs 34.2), higher levels of injury to non-CNS body regions and lower levels of serious injury to the head, brain and spinal cord. Comparisons of patients injured in states with complete helmet use legislation (HUL) with those injured in states without such legislation (NHUL) gave similar results. Mortality of patients injured in HUL states (8.5%) was significantly less than in NHUL states (16.5%/).

Cited Works (8)

Year	Entry
1990	Champion HR, Copes WS, Sacco WJ, Lawnick MM, Keast SL, Bain LW Jr, Flanagan ME, Frey CF. The major trauma outcome study: establishing national norms for trauma care. J Trauma. November 1990;30(11):1356-1365.
1985	The Abbreviated Injury Scale 1985 Revision. Arlington Heights, IL: Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM); 1985.
1989	Copes WS, Sacco WJ, Champion HR, Bain LW, Gann DS, MacKenzie E, Schwaitzberg S, Gennarelli T. Progress in characterizing anatomic injury. In: 33rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 2-4, 1989; Baltimore, MD.205-218.
1974	Baker SP, O'Neill B, Haddon W Jr, Long WB. The injury severity score: a method for describing patients with multiple injuries and evaluating emergency care. J Trauma. March 1974;14(3):187-196.
1989	Champion HR, Sacco WJ, Copes WS, Gann DS, Gennarelli TA, Flanagan ME. A revision of the Trauma Score. J Trauma. May 1989;29(5):623-629.
1989	Tepas JJ III, Crooms CB, Mollitt DL, String DL, Ramenofsky ML, Kitchens L, DiScala C. Inter-rater reliability of the Injury Severity Score and Abbreviated Injury Score. In: 33rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 2-4, 1989; Baltimore, MD.183-190.
1990	Shankar BS, Dischinger PC, Ramzy AI, Soderstrom CA, Clark CC. Helmet use, patterns of injury, and medical outcome among motorcycle drivers in Maryland. In: 34th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 1-3, 1990; Scottsdale, AZ.13-34.
1989	Finelli FC, Jonsson J, Champion HR, Morelli S, Fouty WJ. A case control study for major trauma in geriatric patients. J Trauma. May 1989;29(5):541-548.