Cynthia A. Burch

Life-altering outcomes after lower extremity injury sustained in motor vehicle crashes.

BACKGROUND Lower extremity injuries (LEIs) sustained in vehicular crashes result in physical problems and unexpected psychosocial consequences. Their significance is diminished by low Abbreviated Injury Scale scores. METHODS Drivers who sustained LEIs were identified as part of the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) and interviewed during hospitalization, at 6 months, and at 1 year. All were occupants of newer vehicles with seatbelts and airbags. RESULTS Sixty-five patients were followed for 1 year. Injuries included mild brain injury (43%), ankle/foot fractures (55%), and bilateral injuries (37%). One year post-injury, 46% reported limitations in walking and 22% with ankle/foot fractures were unable to return to work. Depression (39%), cognitive problems (32%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (18%) were significant in the mild brain injury group. CONCLUSIONS Long-lasting physical and psychological burdens may impede recovery and alter the lifestyle of patients with LEI. These issues need to be addressed by trauma center personnel.

Motorcycle helmet effectiveness in reducing head, face and brain injuries by state and helmet law

Background Despite evidence that motorcycle helmets reduce morbidity and mortality, helmet laws and rates of helmet use vary by state in the U.S. Methods We pooled data from eleven states: five with universal laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, and six with partial laws requiring only a subset of motorcyclists to wear a helmet. Data were combined in the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System’s General Use Model and included motorcycle crash records probabilistically linked to emergency department and inpatient discharges for years 2005-2008. Medical outcomes were compared between partial and universal helmet law settings. We estimated adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for head, facial, traumatic brain, and moderate to severe head/facial injuries associated with helmet use within each helmet law setting using generalized log-binomial regression. Results Reported helmet use was higher in universal law states (88 % vs. 42 %). Median charges, adjusted for inflation and differences in state-incomes, were higher in partial law states (emergency department

A Comparison of KABCO and AIS Injury Severity Metrics Using CODES Linked Data

1987 vs.

The Relationship between Impaired Driving Crashes and Beliefs about Impaired Driving: Do Residents in High Crash Rate Counties Have Greater Concerns about Impaired Driving?

1443; inpatient

Are frailty markers associated with serious thoracic and spinal injuries among motor vehicle crash occupants

31,506 vs.

Consequences and Costs of Lower Extremity Injuries

25,949). Injuries to the head and face, including traumatic brain injuries, were more common in partial law states. Effectiveness estimates of helmet use were higher in partial law states (adjusted-RR (CI) of head injury: 2.1 (1.9-2.2) partial law single vehicle; 1.4 (1.2, 1.6) universal law single vehicle; 1.8 (1.6-2.0) partial law multi-vehicle; 1.2 (1.1-1.4) universal law multi-vehicle). Conclusions Medical charges and rates of head, facial, and brain injuries among motorcyclists were lower in universal law states. Helmets were effective in reducing injury in both helmet law settings; lower effectiveness estimates were observed in universal law states.

Delta V, principal direction of force, and restraint use contributions to motor vehicle crash mortality

Objective: The research objective is to compare the consistency of distributions between crash assigned (KABCO) and hospital assigned (Abbreviated Injury Scale, AIS) injury severity scoring systems for 2 states. The hypothesis is that AIS scores will be more consistent between the 2 studied states (Maryland and Utah) than KABCO. Methods: The analysis involved Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) data from 2 states, Maryland and Utah, for years 2006–2008. Crash report and hospital inpatient data were linked probabilistically and International Classification of Diseases (CMS 2013) codes from hospital records were translated into AIS codes. KABCO scores from police crash reports were compared to those AIS scores within and between the 2 study states. Results: Maryland appears to have the more severe crash report KABCO scoring for injured crash participants, with close to 50 percent of all injured persons being coded as a level B or worse, and Utah observes approximately 40 percent in this group. When analyzing AIS scores, some fluctuation was seen within states over time, but the distribution of MAIS is much more comparable between states. Maryland had approximately 85 percent of hospitalized injured cases coded as MAIS = 1 or minor. In Utah this percentage was close to 80 percent for all 3 years. This is quite different from the KABCO distributions, where Maryland had a smaller percentage of cases in the lowest injury severity category as compared to Utah. Conclusions: This analysis examines the distribution of 2 injury severity metrics different in both design and collection and found that both classifications are consistent within each state from 2006 to 2008. However, the distribution of both KABCO and Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) varies between the states. MAIS was found to be more consistent between states than KABCO.

Motorcycle Helmet Use and Head and Facial Injuries: Crash Outcomes in CODES-Linked Data

Objectives: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between impaired driving crashes and public beliefs and concerns about impaired driving across each of Marylands twenty-four counties (including Baltimore City). It was hypothesized that residents of counties that experience higher impaired driving crashes would express more concerns about impaired driving and perceive more risks about driving impaired than residents of counties that have lower rates of impaired driving. Methods: Data for alcohol impaired driving crashes were obtained for the years 2004–2006. These data were compared to public opinion data that was obtained annually by random-digit-dial telephone surveys from 2004 to 2007. Results: Concerns about drunk driving as well as perceptions of the likelihood of being stopped by the police if one were to drive after having too much to drink were related to counties with higher serious impaired driving crash rates, as were perceptions that the police and the legal system were too lenient. Perceptions about the likelihood of being stopped by the police were higher in those counties with more impaired driving enforcement activity. Conclusion: Perceptions of concern appear to be shaped more by crash exposure than enforcement activity. Campaigns that address impaired driving prevention should substantially increase enforcement, strengthen the adjudication process of impaired drivers, and emphasize the potential seriousness of drinking-driving crashes in their promotional activities.

Causes and Outcomes of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Analysis of Ciren Data

BACKGROUND While age is a known risk factor in trauma, markers of frailty are growing in their use in the critically ill. Frailty markers may reflect underlying strength and function more than chronologic age, as many modern elderly patients are quite active. However, the optimal markers of frailty are unknown. METHODS A retrospective review of The Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) database was performed over an 11-year period. Computed tomographic images were analyzed for multiple frailty markers, including sarcopenia determined by psoas muscle area, osteopenia determined by Hounsfield units (HU) of lumbar vertebrae, and vascular disease determined by aortic calcification. RESULTS Overall, 202 patients were included in the review, with a mean age of 58.5 years. Median Injury Severity Score was 17. Sarcopenia was associated with severe thoracic injury (62.9% vs. 42.5%; p = 0.03). In multivariable analysis controlling for crash severity, sarcopenia remained associated with severe thoracic injury (p = 0.007) and osteopenia was associated with severe spine injury (p = 0.05). While age was not significant in either multivariable analysis, the association of sarcopenia and osteopenia with development of serious injury was more common with older age. CONCLUSIONS Multiple markers of frailty were associated with severe injury. Frailty may more reflect underlying physiology and injury severity than age, although age is associated with frailty. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic and epidemiologic study, level IV.