Lower Extremity Fracture in Motor Vehicle
Crashes
The Role of Restraint Use
This retrospective analysis was conducted to
measure the association between seatbelt use and airbag deployment and the risk
of lower extremity fractures following frontal motor vehicle crashes (MVCs).
Data was obtained from the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) that
reports light passenger vehicle MVCs which include crashes that are police
reported, involved a harmful event and at least one vehicle was towed away.
The sample included 15,188,292 front seat
occupants (1995-2000), being in either the driver or passenger seats. Frontal
collisions were defined as primary direction of force between 11 and 1 o'clock
to the frontal aspect of the vehicle, and crashes were equal to or greater than
15 kilometers per hour.
The study found that occupants restrained
with a seatbelt had only a significantly lower risk of pelvis, femur and
tibia/fibula fractures whereas occupants restrained with only an airbag had
significantly higher risks of these fractures. The combination of seatbelt use
and airbag deployment was similarly associated with a reduced risk of pelvis,
femur and tibia/fibula fractures. This provides data useful in processing scene
assessment and expected injuries when responding to motor vehicle crashes. For
more information, see:
Estrada, L.S., Alonso, J.E., McGwin, G., et
al. (2004). Restraint use and lower extremity fractures in frontal motor
vehicle collisions. Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care,
57(2), 323-328. [review prepared by Andrew Reimer BSN RN] |
