Patterns of injury among drivers hospitalized in Level-I trauma centers:​ have frontal airbags made a difference?

Segui-Gomez, Maria; Graham, John D.

Affiliations

¹Dept. Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

²Dept. Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract

This study describes the injuries of drivers discharged from Level-I Trauma Centers between 1995-1997. Differences in the drivers’ injuries and outcomes by airbag deployment status and gender were evaluated using Chi² and T-tests. Data on 1,065 drivers (66 with airbags, 423 females) were obtained from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle and Trauma Registries.

Once admitted to trauma centers, drivers with airbags did not differ from drivers without airbags regarding the number, type, clustering, severity or outcome of their injuries. The only exception was that female drivers sustained more fractures to the upper extremities and less injuries to blood vessels and certain traumatic complications (p<0.05).

Cited Works (13)

Year	Entry
1995	Huelke DF, Moore JL, Compton TW, Samuels J, Levine RS. Upper extremity injuries related to airbag deployments. J Trauma. April 1995;38(4):482-488.
2000	Martin PG, Crandall JR, Pilkey WD. Injury trends of passenger car drivers in frontal crashes in the USA. Accid Anal Prev. July 2000;32(4):39-46.
1976	Mohan D, Zador P, O’Neill B, Ginsburg M. Air bags and lap/shoulder belts: a comparison of their effectiveness in real world, frontal crashes. In: 20th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). November 1-3, 1976; Atlanta, GA.315-335.
1994	Rosman DL, Knuiman MW. A comparison of hospital and police road injury data. Accid Anal Prev. February 1994;26(2):215-222.
1991	Larkin GL. Airbag-mediated corneal injury. Am J Emerg Med. September 1991;9(5):444-446.
1995	Smock WS, Nichols GR II. Airbag module cover injuries. J Trauma. April 1995;38(4):489-493.
1976	Baker SP, O'Neill B. The Injury Severity Score: an update. J Trauma. November 1976;16(11):882-885.
1995	Freedman EL, Safran MR, Meals RA. Automotive airbag-related upper extremity injuries: a report of three cases. J Trauma. April 1995;38(4):577-581.
1993	Traynelis VC, Gold M. Cervical spine injury in an air-bag-equipped vehicle. J Spinal Disord. February 1993;6(1):60-61.
1993	Zador PL, Ciccone MA. Automobile driver fatalities in frontal impacts: air bags compared with manual belts. Am J Public Health. May 1993;83(5):661-666.
1992	Huelke DF, Moore JL, Ostrom M. Air bag injuries and occupant protection. J Trauma. December 1992;33(6):894-898.
1995	Dalmotas DJ, German A, Hendrick BE, Hurley RM. Airbag deployments: the Canadian experience. J Trauma. April 1995;38(4):476-481.
1993	Blacksin MF. Patterns of fracture after air bag deployment. J Trauma. December 1993;35(6):840-843.