SAFETYLIT WEEKLY UPDATE

We compile citations and summaries of about 400 new articles every week.
RSS Feed

HELP: Tutorials | FAQ
CONTACT US: Contact info

Search Results

Journal Article

Citation

Clapperton AJ, Herde EL, Lower TG. Med. J. Aust. 2013; 199(6): 418-422.

Affiliation

Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit, Monash Injury Research Institute, Monash University, M angela.clapperton@monash.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Australian Medical Association, Publisher Australasian Medical Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

24033217

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To enumerate and describe fatal and hospital-treated injury associated with quad bike use in Victoria.

DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive analysis of coronial records and hospital-treated injury data (2002-03 to 2010-11).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of quad bike-related fatalities, hospital admissions, emergency department (ED) presentations, and results of a trend and severity analysis (International Classification of Disease-based Injury Severity Score; ICISS).

RESULTS: There were 19 fatalities, 766 hospital admissions and 816 ED presentations. The peak age group for fatalities and admissions was 15-29 years (26.3% and 27.9%, respectively), with children 0-14 years being the most common group presenting to EDs (32.2%). Males were strongly overrepresented (84.2% of fatalities, 73.8% of admissions and 71.2% of ED presentations). Intracranial injury (26.3%), fractures (15.8%) and traumatic asphyxiation (15.8%) were the most common injuries among fatal cases. Fractures accounted for half all admissions. Twenty-eight per cent of admissions were classified as "serious" (ICISS, ≤ 0.941) and, over the 9-year study period, the frequency of admissions increased significantly by an estimated 41.4% (95% CI, 9.6%-78.9%). This was significant for males (53.2%; 95% CI, 11.5%-104.4%) and people aged 15-29 years (163.1%; 95% CI, 75.2%-253.7%).

CONCLUSION: Quad bikes are imposing a significant injury burden in Victoria. Fatalities are frequent, while the number of admissions, often serious, increased over the study period. Children were involved across all levels of severity. A range of prevention approaches, such as mandatory fitting of crush protection devices to protect riders in the event of a roll over, are required.


Language: en

NEW SEARCH


All SafetyLit records are available for automatic download to Zotero & Mendeley
Print