Citation

Gavrilova N, Harijan A, Schiro S, Hultman CS, Lee C. Ann. Plast. Surg. 2010; 64(5): 534-536.

Affiliation

Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7195, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/SAP.0b013e3181bffcaf

PMID

20395810

Abstract

To determine the incidence of finger amputation and replantation in North Carolina (NC) and to identify patterns of injury by race and immigration status. Finger amputation injury data were obtained from the NC hospital discharge database. Hospital discharge data were linked to 2000 US Census data by zip code of residence to estimate median income, the percentage of Hispanics, and the percent foreign-born. A total of 556 admissions for finger amputations (86% male, 14% female) occurred in NC during 2004-2006. The most common mechanism was industrial machinery (36%). Eighty-nine replantations were performed (16%). Finger amputation is a common work-related injury in NC. The rate of replantation appeared to be higher in zip codes with a higher density of Hispanics and with a higher density of immigrants. More data on injury that includes racial/ethnic, social, and economic information will be critical to understand the true burden of injury on immigrants.

Language: en