Patterns of fracture after air bag deployment

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Blacksin, Marcia F.¹

Patterns of fracture after air bag deployment

J Trauma. December 1993;35(6):840-843

©1993 Williams & Wilkins

Affiliations

¹Department of Muscoloskeletal Radiology, UMDNJ-Newark, University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey
Abstract

The airbag restraint system has been described as a means of reducing fatalities in frontal crashes. This conclusion is based on crash investigations and statistical extrapolation, but few data exist to document specific fracture patterns and injuries after airbag deployment. Seven cases of driver's side airbag deployment after motor vehicle crashes were studied for extent of injury. Unrestrained (non-seatbelted) drivers demonstrated flexion injuries of the cervical and thoracic spine and direct impaction fractures of the face and sternum. One restrained (lap-shoulder belt) driver demonstrated an extension injury of the upper cervical spine. What may emerge from further study is a decrease in fatalities, but also a pattern of fractures specific to airbag use.
Links

PubMed: 8263979

Cited By (18)

Year	Entry
1998	Nightingale RW, Winkelstein BA, Van Ee CA, Myers BS. Injury mechanisms in the pediatric cervical spine during out-of-position airbag deployments. In: 42nd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 5-7, 1998; Charlottesville, VA.153-164.
2000	Segui-Gomez M, Graham JD. Patterns of injury among drivers hospitalized in Level-I trauma centers: have frontal airbags made a difference? In: 44th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 2-4, 2000; Chicago, IL.
1994	Huelke DF, Moore JL, Compton TW, Samuels J, Levine RS. Upper extremity injuries related to air bag deployments. In: Advances in Occupant Restraint Technologies: Joint AAAM-IRCOBI Special Session. September 22, 1994; Lyon, France.55-78.
1994	Zuppichini F, Trenchi G, Rigo C, Marigo M. Unexpected deaths in airbag equipped cars: case reports. In: Advances in Occupant Restraint Technologies: Joint AAAM-IRCOBI Special Session. September 22, 1994; Lyon, France.79-94.
1998	Bloch B. The coming revolution in airbag technology. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.1175-1189.
1996	Dischinger PC, Ho SM, Kerns TJ, Brennan P. Patterns of injury in frontal collisions with and without airbags. In: Proceedings of the 1996 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 11-13, 1996; Dublin, Ireland.311-319.
2010	DeWit JA, Cronin DS. Cervical spine segment finite element model validation and verification at traumatic loading levels for injury prediction. In: Proceedings of the 2010 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 15-17, 2010; Hannover, Germany.59-70.
2000	Van Ee CA, Nightingale RW, Camacho DLA, Chancey VC, Knaub KE, Sun EA, Myers BS. Tensile properties of the human muscular and ligamentous cervical spine. Stapp Car Crash J. 2000;44:85-102. SAE 2000-01-SC07.
2006	Dibb AT, Nightingale RW, Chancey VC, Fronheiser LE, Tran L, Ottaviano D, Myers BS. Comparative structural neck responses of the THOR-NT, Hybrid III, and human in combined tension-bending and pure bending. Stapp Car Crash J. 2006;50:567-581. SAE 2006-22-0021.
2002	Nightingale RW, Winkelstein BA, Knaub KE, Richardson WJ, Luck JF, Myers BS. Comparative strengths and structural properties of the upper and lower cervical spine in flexion and extension. J Biomech. June 2002;35(6):725-732.
2009	Dibb AT, Nightingale RW, Luck JF, Chancey VC, Fronheiser LE, Myers BS. Tension and combined tension-extension structural response and tolerance properties of the human male ligamentous cervical spine. J Biomech Eng. August 2009;131(8):081008.
2012	DeWit JA, Cronin DS. Cervical spine segment finite element model for traumatic injury prediction. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. June 2012;10:138-150.
2009	Wang MC, Pintar F, Yoganandan N, Maiman DJ. The continued burden of spine fractures after motor vehicle crashes. J Neurosurg Spine. February 2009;10(2):86-92.
1996	Duma SM, Kress TA, Porta DJ, Woods CD, Snider JN, Fuller PM, Simmons RJ. Airbag-induced eye injuries: a report of 25 cases. J Trauma. July 1996;41(1):114-119.
2005	Ouyang J, Zhu Q, Zhao W, Xu Y, Chen W, Zhong S. Biomechanical assessment of the pediatric cervical spine under bending and tensile loading. Spine. December 15, 2005;30(24):E716-E723.
2000	Van Ee CA. Tensile Properties of the Human Muscular and Ligamentous Cervical Spine [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 2000.
2011	Dibb AT. Pediatric Head and Neck Dynamic Response: A Computational Study [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 2011.
2012	Luck JF. The Biomechanics of the Perinatal, Neonatal and Pediatric Cervical Spine: Investigation of the Tensile, Bending and Viscoelastic Response [PhD thesis]. Durham, NC: Duke University; 2012.